A Strange Alchemist
by Electrikrainb0w
Summary: In their eager search for the philosopher's stone, the Elric brothers inadvertently lead the homunculi to an unusual girl. A girl whose incredible form of alchemy appears to defy all prior understanding as to how the art is performed. Alchemy that's impossible to perform without the philosopher's stone. Rated M for violence, gore, language, and sexual situations. EnvyxOC
1. Chapter 1

I will be updating this frequently so stick around for the ride.

This is a story where the Romance is secondary, but still important. It will be developed slowly. So, she's not going to just meet Envy and get on screwing him!

While Envy isn't in this chapter, he will be in the next one.

This story is one I developed after seeing a lack of good EnvyxOC fanfiction, plus I had an interesting idea for an alchemist.

Please review! I'd love to get your opinions and comments (questions will be answered ASAP).

* * *

It was hot outside. Cooler than Ishbal, but not by much. Ed and Al stood across from a greying man with a wrinkled face and brown, almond eyes.

"Marion Avarie?" The old man scratched his head and give them an odd look.

"Yeah," Ed said. "Is she in this town, we heard she was."

The man nodded. "She is."

"Is it true she performs alchemy without a circle?"

The man nodded and smiled, "she's an amazing alchemist."

"She clapped her hands?"

"No."

Ed and Al glanced at each other.

"So, she had transmutation circles drawn or tattooed on her?" Ed asked, his voice edging with anticipation.

"No."

Ed glanced at Al with a grin on his face, "she must be using the philosopher's stone."

"No." The man gave another odd look at the two. "She used no stone."

"How do you know?" Ed was getting annoyed now which made his brother nervous.

The man shrugged. "You don't have to believe it. But I've seen it with my own eyes. She's performed alchemy from over 200 yards away." His eyes harshly met Ed's. "You don't have to believe me."

"Where can we find her?" Al asked.

"Go down this road," the man said as he pointed to the north. "Turn right on the next road. About halfway down there's a short fence on the left. Go through that and she's the third one down on the left."

No sooner had the directions been spoken and Ed was racing down the street. Al shouted appreciative thank you's and gave a bow before hurrying after his brother.

The town was lively as they made their way down the path. Both sides of each road had colorful houses and people seemed happy and content with their life. "This has to be one of the happiest towns I've ever seen," Al said. If he had a flesh face, a gentle smile would have graced his lips.

"I'd be happy too if our town had a philosopher's stone." Ed cast a cautious glance at his brother. "Hopefully this isn't like Reole, where it's a fake stone."

Al looked at the ground, trying to pull himself from the sad recollection of Reole's fake prophet.

They stopped when they reached the chain-link fence, located precisely where the old man had said.

"This can't be right," Al said.

Before them, lay a field of green grass with rows of rock stones bearing the names of those who had passed.

After a slight hesitation, the boys walked down a pebble trail to the third row down on the left. The persistent crunching noise as feet met ground slipped to silence as they reached the monument bearing the name, 'Marion Avarie'.

Ed groaned and threw his arms up in the air. "That bastard. He couldn't just say we were looking for a dead woman."

Al placed a comforting metal hand on his brother's slumped shoulders, but it did little to settle the disappointed look spread across the boy's face.

"What are you doing here?"

The brothers turned to the source of the feminine voice and jumped when they saw her. How she had managed to walk up to them so silently down that noisy path eluded them.

Long brown hair was teased into a single braid, bordering the right side of her pale face and accentuating a pair of deep blue eyes. She was pretty, not the most gorgeous girl they had ever seen, but still pretty. Thin arms clutched several flowers.

"Sorry," Ed said as the two of them backed down the path. "Just a hopeless search." Al followed him close behind. They stopped and turned however, after only traveling a few feet. Ed stood silently next to Al, watching the girl as she kneeled in front of Marion Avarie's grave, placing the flowers in a small vase that had been placed in front of the stone.

"You know her?" Ed asked while his brother glanced nervously at him. "Marion Avarie?"

"Yes," the girl said in a level tone, not turning to face them. "She was my mother."

Ed looked at Al, his excitement returning. "Is it true she didn't need a transmutation circle to perform alchemy?"

The girl's body stiffened and she remained facing the grave. Her voice came out as sharp as a blade. "She was a skilled alchemist. She helped build this town from the ground up. Her skills in alchemy were certainly extraordinary, but I find it tragic that she is remembered for her alchemy and not the amazing achievements she used it for."

Ed flushed. The younger brother held his hands up and distanced himself from his brother, avoiding the association. This was entirely missed by the girl, her back, remaining to them.

"Well.." Ed labored over his next words. The offensiveness of this introduction was gradually draining their opportunity at obtaining useful information.

"I'm sure your mother was a wonderful person," Al interjected. Ed glanced at him in relief when the girl's posture relaxed. "My name is Al and my brother is Ed. I know our interests in her alchemy seem superficial, but—"

"We have some questions we need answered," Ed continued.

The girl glanced at them over her shoulder and returned her eyes forward, but said nothing.

Seeing this as an invitation, Ed gained an impish grin. "She didn't use alchemy circles, right?"

The girl nodded.

"And she had no tattoos anywhere on her body of transmutation circles?"

The girl nodded again.

"And you're sure about that," Al asked.

"Yes."

"Did she clap her hands together?"

The girl shook her head.

Ed began to silently jump while Al waved his arms for him to calm down.

"So, she used the philosopher's stone, right?"

"No."

Ed froze, shocked at the response. "Of course, she used the stone."

The girl stiffened again. "My mother used no stone. Why would she need some pebble to perform alchemy?"

Ed's face scrunched in anger. "It's not just some pebble, it's the phil—"

"My mother used no stone to perform alchemy." She turned her head and glared at Ed. Her gaze was so sharp and harsh that Alphonse slowly edged further away. "Get lost." Her eyes returned to the stone in front of her and the air was silent.

The boys didn't move immediately.

"I said, get lost." The girl's voice was dripping with anger.

Ed began fuming and opened his mouth to speak more but Al grabbed his arm and dragged him back down the path toward the entrance to the graveyard. As they stepped away, the girl began softly murmuring. Her voice was so quiet the Ed couldn't make out a single word.

Reluctant to give up, the brothers inquired throughout the town but only received the same response. No circle. No hand clap. No tattoo. No stone.

"It's impossible," Ed groaned as he pressed his back against the cold stone wall of building in an alleyway, sliding down slowly. It was night, a whole day wasted with this stupid town.

"I don't get it either, brother." Al couldn't find sense in it either. "Maybe she just hid the stone. Wore a necklace or something. Put it somewhere no one would think to look!"

"Yeah," Ed said. He leaned his head forward into his knees. "Maybe."

"That has to be it," Al said, clapping his hands as if the enigma was solved.

Ed didn't respond. Al sat down and the boys remained in silence for a few minutes. This was a situation that just lacked any sense at all.

"Emilee," a little girl cried from around the corner.

The brothers turned their eyes in that direction, hearing soft footsteps slowly coming to a halt. "What's wrong, Kimmy?"

That voice. Ed quickly crawled across the ground and peeked around the corner. Al snuck a look as well, but with a view several feet above his.

"My toy's broken" the girl whined. She held out some sort of broken toy to the girl they had seen earlier at the cemetery.

"Again?" Emilee spoke in a tone of sadness but a bright smile lined her face.

The child nodded her head vigorously.

"I'll fix it, okay?"

The child grinned and didn't seem bothered when Emilee made no motion to pick up the toy. She also didn't ask her to put it down on the ground. But the child didn't edge closer, she simply stood still, continuing to hold out the toy as before.

A flash of light and the toy was mended.

"What?" Ed screamed.

Emilee and the child jerked their heads towards them.

Ed came out from behind the wall, pointing an accusing finger. "You have the stone."

Al followed his brother out, but very clearly wished he could've kept hiding. Ed caused so much trouble when he was angry.

"Is this your friend?" The little girl looked up at Emilee who merely shook her head.

"Go inside," Emilee said softly and the girl hurried back into her house, stealing only one more glance at the brothers before disappearing.

She turned to the brothers. "I'm not using a stone."

Ed glared. "Then—"

"I don't have a tattoo either."

Ed groaned and threw his arms up. "When will you stop with the lies!"

The girl's eyes narrowed and she stomped her foot. "If I tell you I'm using some pebble will it end your rude accusations or simply perpetuate this madness?"

"It's not a pebble," Ed shook his fists at her in frustration.

"We just want to know how you're performing alchemy without a circle or anything," Al said, intentionally calmly.

"You're using the philosopher's stone, right?" Ed almost foamed at the mouth.

The girl picked up a rock off the ground and eyed it. "Here's your rock." She laughed and tossed it straight up a few times, only a few inches. Ed just stared at her, confused and irritated.

Without warning Emilee brought her arm back and chucked the rock at the Elric brothers who ducked and scattered. The rock struck a window behind them, shattering the glass.

"What the hell, you hag!" Ed screamed. The only thing keeping him from attacking the girl was Al's firm grip as he held the angry, flailing boy to his chest.

The girl laughed again. "Watch," she said.

Her eyes focused on the broken window. In a matter of seconds, it had been returned to its original condition.

"Your eyes," Ed said slowly.

"My eyes?"

Ed had seen them flicker when she fixed the window. He was sure of it. "Do it again," he demanded.

Emilee reluctantly complied. She broke the window again, this time with a rough kick instead of an aimed projectile. Al glanced around nervously, hoping no one would be drawn to the sound of smashing glass.

Ed walked closer to her against his brother's pleas. As she repaired the glass, Ed began to shout in excitement. It was as if some part of the puzzle was solved. "Your eyes, something is wrong with your eyes."

"What?" The girl stared at him with her jaw striking the floor, luckily not literally. She crossed her arms, flipped around and continued walking down the road in the direction she had originally been traveling.

"Brother!" Al sputtered.

"Wait!" Ed shouted after Emilee. "That's not what I meant!"

"Fuck off." She didn't look back once.

Ed turned and looked at Al with eyes widened. "Her eyes. Something strange happened with her eyes."

"What do you mean, Ed? Why would you say something like that to her?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ed grunted, annoyed. But his face grew softer. "But I saw something happen to her eyes."

"What? What did you see?"

"I don't know. They changed color or something." Ed shook his head vigorously back in forth as if trying to wake himself up from drowsiness. "I didn't get a good look. But I'm sure of it." He sighed. "I need to see her do it again."

Al couldn't help but laugh. "Brother, she'll never show you again now."

Ed couldn't help but smile sadly. "I'll figure something out. We'll try to talk to her tomorrow." He stood up straight and began walking down the street. "For now, let's go crash at that lodge we saw earlier."

"But brother!"

"Geez, what, Al?" Ed flipped around. "Gonna complain about my word choice again. I know it was stupid."

"No," Al said quietly.

"What then?"

Al rubbed the back of his head and then pointed the opposite way down the alley. "The lodge is that way."

* * *

Emilee closed the door behind her and locked it as she got home. She didn't turn on any lights and crept up the stairs, careful to avoid the squeaky step about halfway up. Her silent trek down the hallway to her bedroom was only interrupted by her pause in front of the door of the other bedroom.

She opened the door. Her eyes glanced over the books and framed photos of her and her mother that lined the shelves before whispering "goodnight, mom" and quietly shutting the door to the empty room.

In her bedroom she walked to the bathroom and sighed, releasing her hair from its bond. As if on cue, it poofed out, forming thick waves down her back. She brushed her hair and teeth, the typical nightly routine.

Pain gripped her chest as she remembered the rude boys. That rude boy. She let her hands rest on the edges of the sink and she gazed into the reflection in the mirror. Her eyes. Her right hand snaked up and brushed her cheek, just under her right eye.

They were the same blue they always were. There wasn't anything strange about that. There was nothing wrong with them that she could see. She gritted her teeth and gripped the sides of the sink tighter. Her face fell until she was looking into the empty sink.

Her one-sided conversations with her mother by her gravestone weren't enough. They were never enough. They would never be enough. Not until, by grace of God, her mother actually responded. So, no—they would never be enough.

Emilee collapsed on her bed, face first on the pillow. It took her a few moments to find the motivation to slip under the covers. She closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. It didn't for a while, leaving her enough time to relive that stupid situation with that stupid boy. "Go to Hell, Ed." She muttered before drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2!**

 **In response to someone's question, lemme give a quick explanation of what world we're in. (Note: I'll try to answer questions in the reviews but they will always be fully answered in the following chapter).**

 **This story takes place in the brotherhood world regarding storyline/plot (ie. Motivations and existence of characters like Father and Dante). Certain characters (eg. Envy) will, however, have personalities from the original anime. The particular sins will also be from the original anime (eg. The Fuhrer is the sin Pride, Wrath is Izumi's son, etc.). This is around the time after Nina Tucker is killed by Scar, but before the brothers learn the main ingredient of the philosopher's stone.**

 **I'm going to try to get the first chapters out fairly quickly so ya'll don't have to wait that long. Most of the earlier chapters are already written and simply need edits and adjustments before being posted.**

 **Reviews are appreciated!**

* * *

 _Glass shattered. The two watched from the roof as the girl on the ground beneath them showed the Elric brothers a glimpse of her alchemy._

 _Lust's eyes narrowed as the glass returned to its original condition. She had not drawn a circle or formed one with her hands. "That's interesting."_

 _Envy leaned against the dormer of the building they were on, arms crossed. "Mhmmm."_

 _Lust held up a picture of a woman with brown hair and deep blue eyes and pushed it into Envy's face_. He peered at it, then swatted it away. Lust withdrew the photo. _"Envy, you know what to do. I'll return to Father, he'll want to hear about… this."_

 _"Mhmmm."_

 _"Don't screw this up, Envy." Lust hissed at him._

 _"I won't." Envy sneered. "She's just one stupid human."_

* * *

Emilee followed the same path she always took in the afternoon, taking in the fresh hair and relishing in the heat of the sun as it warmed her skin. The morning had been spent caring for her garden in the back. She had plucked several of the prettiest tulips and carried them in her hand as she stepped down the road.

"Hey, Emilee!" A woman waved her arm from her front porch. She was rocking in a wooden chair beside her husband.

"Good morning." Emilee returned the wave.

"You think you can help us later?" Her husband called. "Our fence out back broke."

"The fence broke because you smashed into it." His wife laughed. "What were you even doing?"

"I told you it was an accident." The man chuckled.

"Sure, I'll come by on my way home." She smiled brightly at them.

As soon as she passed out of view of the happy couple, the smile descended from her face. She had become so accustomed to her walk to the cemetery, yet the experience always left her feeling drained. Her forced smile seemed to easily convince her neighbors and friends that her life was picking up. But, though she attempted to convince herself she was happy now, the façade of joviality was something she was unable to maintain in the absence of observersation.

She pulled her blue, summer dress to the side as she kneeled in front of her mother's grave. She replaced the drying daffodils of the previous day with the new arrangement of fresh tulips.

"Hey, Mom." She said softly. "I'm sorry I was so upset yesterday. Those boys were just so impolite and intrusive." She grimaced at the recollection of the particular boy's brusque attitude. "Well, that one boy, Ed at least." Her voice hardened as his name passed her lips.

She was silent as a light breeze rolled through, fluttering her dress and hair. She regretted leaving her hair down that day as she pushed back the strands that swirled across her face, blocking some of her vision. "I don't know why they care so much about this. And he said there was something wrong with my eyes." She blinked away moisture that blurred her sight. "There's nothing wrong with my eyes, right, mom?"

Silence was her response. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to imagine the response from her mother. She could barely even recall her mother's voice.

"There's nothing wrong with them, Emilee. But they're special."

Emilee's eyes flew open. Had that voice come through her ears? Her head swiveled around to the source of the voice and her mouth hung open. She stared, struck, frozen as time stood still. She fell backwards, knocking over the vase, and she scrambled to pick up and arrange the flowers again. Her head slowly turned back to the woman who stood behind her. "Mom?" Her voice came out more as a gasping shriek than a question.

"Yes, Emilee." The woman smiled and walked closer, crouching in front of her. She was wearing one of her mother's favorite outfits, white blouse and a long blue skirt. She brushed disheveled hair from Emilee's face, tucking it behind her ear, before placing a cold palm on the side of her face.

Emilee began to laugh historically. A dream. Wow, this was one insanely real dream.

Her mother pursed her lips. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Tears began to fall down Emilee's cheeks as her laughing turned to sobbing. "Mom. Why are you coming to my dreams? I haven't seen you here in years." Had the incident with the brothers yesterday thrown her mind off this much?

Suddenly Emilee felt cold arms stretch around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "This is no dream," her mother said softly.

"Yes, it is." Emilee laughed through sobs, shaking her head. "Just a dream."

Her mother pushed Emilee back a bit and pressed both hands against the girl's face, wiping away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. She smiled softly. "Don't let that boy make you feel bad."

Emilee nodded. "I won't." She suddenly put her arms around her mother's torso, resting her head on the soft white blouse and squeezing tight. She wished so badly this was real.

They remained like that for several minutes. When Emilee's arms finally loosened, her mother pulled away and stood. She offered a hand down towards Emilee. "Come, let me show you something."

Emilee nodded and took her mother's cold hand, letting herself be pulled to her feet.

She didn't release the hand her mother had offered her. Not once had her grip even softened while her mother led her out of the cemetery and down the street.

"Where are we going, mom?"

"You'll see."

No one in the town had seemed to notice her mother's appearance. Several looked over but, at most, gave a small wave before carrying on with what they were doing. This was certainly a dream. She looked up and was confused to see that her mother's face had been replaced by that of an unfamiliar female. Emilee said nothing and when they rounded a corner, suddenly hidden from other people, her mother's face returned.

They continued down the alley until they turned and reached a dead end, nothing interesting in sight. "I don't understand," Emilee said. Her eyes darted around the area and she turned about, trying to find something of interest. "Why are we h—"

She felt a cold hand cover her mouth with a cloth carrying a strong scent. A wave of drowsiness descended, muddling her brain. She looked up. The person standing above her was not her mother. Violet eyes bore into hers, green hair spiking out of the man who clutched the cloth tightly over her mouth. Her eyes widened momentarily but slowly closed, succumbing to the chloroform.

* * *

"Hey. Have you seen Emilee?" Ed asked a woman walking with a very young child.

"I think she's at the cemetery."

"She's not." Ed groaned. "We tried there earlier."

"She doesn't normally head there until 2 pm and I saw her walking there not too long ago."

Ed sighed. "Let's try there again, I guess."

"Thank you," Al said to the woman.

The two of them neared the graveyard but saw no one in the area as they walked up.

Ed groaned and put both hands on his head. "Not this again."

"It's okay, brother." Al said, trying to comfort him. "We'll find her."

Ed ran up to an elderly woman sweeping the front of a store with Al close behind. "Did you see Emilee here?"

The woman nodded. "She went to the cemetery a bit ago, but I saw her walking away with some woman."

"What woman? Do you know where to?"

"I'm not sure," the woman said thoughtfully. "Must be a visitor, I'd never seen her before. But she probably needed something fixed."

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

The woman beamed. "That girl is so sweet. Always fixing things, helping others. She's just like her mother."

Ed and Al looked at each other and smiled. Maybe she would forgive them for how belligerently they (Ed) had approached her the day before.

"Did you see which way she went?" Al asked.

"I think she went that way." The woman pointed down behind a building.

"Thank you so much!" Ed grinned.

"You're welcome." The woman returned a smile.

Back behind the buildings they walked the main path down the alley, glancing down empty turns before continuing.

"You hear that?" Ed asked. There were voices from ahead.

Following them, they rounded a corner into a dead end. Both froze.

Envy released a cloth from over Emilee's mouth and holstered her over his shoulder.

"Envy?" Ed snarled. He and Al took offensive stances.

Envy's lips formed a twisted smile. "Thanks for the help, Pipsqueak."

"Who're you calling a pipsqueak, you fucking palm tree." Ed clapped his hands together, forming a blade on his right, automail arm. "Let her go," he shouted, racing towards Envy. He swung his arm, aiming his blade towards the side of Envy that Emilee did not lay across.

"Not gonna happen." Envy smirked, easily dodging the attack. He leaped to the side gracefully, avoiding the spikes raising from the ground as Al's metal hands made contact with a chalk-drawn transmutation circle.

"Careful, Al. We don't want to hurt her."

"Sorry!" Al backed up.

Ed charged again and managed to catch the edge of Envy's arm as he hopped away, slicing the skin. Blood dripped down Envy's left arm from the deep wound, exposing the white fat under the skin. Within moments the wound closed.

Ed ran forward again and swung his arm out at Envy. He tried to stop his arm when Envy pulled Emilee in front of him, but still landed a small slice across her shoulder. Thankfully not deep. A few beads of blood formed across the cut, but only one drop dripped down.

"Careful, Ed. We don't want to hurt her," Al mimicked, sarcastically.

Ed flashed an angry look at his brother as he jumped back.

Gripping the back of her shirt and holding her in front of him, as if she was a shield, Envy hopped towards Ed. His arm had turned to a steel sword and he swiped at Ed's head. Ed narrowly avoided the attack. At the second strike, he held his arm up to block. A loud ringing sound pierced the air as blade met automail.

Ed jumped back, replaced by Al who attempted hand-on-hand combat of his own. But he faced a similar problem avoiding the Envy's Emilee shield. He appeared to find sick entertainment in waving the girl about, warding off the brother's attacks. Eventually, he withdrew as well, standing across from the boys. He was only 15 feet away. Their minds each raced as they attempted to plot a rescue.

Envy raised his sword-arm and lunged towards the boys, only a few feet, teasing them. He let out a maniacal laugh when they flinched, bearing defensive postures. "You know what? This is taking too much time."

"Then just let her go," Ed commanded.

Envy sneered. "Sorry, boys but she's coming with me. But, as thanks for finding her, I'll let you live."

The boys tried to rush him again but Envy returned Emilee to his shoulder, hopped onto the building and raced across the rooftops.

Ed and Al chased him, Ed on the roof and Al on the ground. But when Envy ditched the shingles and entered a forest outside the town, they lost him.

Ed groaned and fell to his knees, banging his head on a tree repeatedly until Al stopped him. His hair covered his eyes, "What are we going to do?"

"We'll save her." Al assured him.

Ed leaned his head against the tree. "We don't even know where they're taking her."

"We'll find her."

"I can't believe I led them right to her."

"It's not your fault."

Ed turned his head and glared at his brother. "Yeah," he growled. "It is."

* * *

Envy chuckled to himself as he hopped from tree to tree. How easy it had been to lose the Elrics.

His eyes made their way down to his shoulder, where the girl laid slumped across. Her body bounced like she was a rag doll as he moved.

Her arms were weak, her skin was pale. She was an easy catch. Would've been even easier without the brothers there with their attempts to intervene. But, without them, discovering the girl would've been much more taxing.

As his eyes moved from her and back to the path ahead, he frowned. He hated that lust always made him do the dirty work. He hated dealing with humans. Although they sometimes brought comedic entertainment through their ridiculous antics, they were such pathetic creatures.

If he had more time, he would've killed that bastard's sons. But the human wouldn't be unconscious forever and he didn't want to deal with the possibility of returning to Father without her.

In memoriam of a lost opportunity in destroying the pathetic brothers, he fantasized about killing them all the way back. Wiping off the seal keeping Al's soul bound within that armor with his saliva while Ed watched. Then, slicing through Ed's skin, cutting him bit by bit. Dismembering his body with his arm a blade.

His eyes were wild and his mouth was twisted into a smile. It remained that way until he returned to the hideout where Father and the other homunculi awaited him.


	3. Chapter 3

**This is the last of the shorter chapters. The next are going to be a good bit longer.**

 **This one contains more mature material than the previous, the parts I looked forward to writing the most! (Mwhaha.)**

 **Thank you for reading! I appreciate the reviews I've received!**

 **As usual, let me know what you think!**

* * *

Envy entered into the hideout. He kicked open the door to the main area, a large room with a circular couch filling most of it. Lust sat on one side, stroking gluttony's head as if he were a cat. Sloth on the other side with Wrath nuzzled up to her side.

"Well aren't we one big, happy, fucking family." Envy dropped Emilee, letting her strike the hard ground with a thump. He sat on the couch, sitting distant from both pairs, but much closer to Lust than Sloth.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Lust laughed. Her hand momentarily paused in it's stroke of Gluttony's bald head. He looked up at her, confused at the break in attention.

Wrath sat up, pulling his head from Sloth's side and eyeing the figure on the ground. "Why's a human here?"

"She's not a normal human." Lust said. Her violet eyes met Envy's. "You can't just leave her there, you know."

"What am I supposed to do with her?" Envy huffed, crossing his arms and slouching deeper into the couch. He looked away from Lust. "I don't understand how she's not a _normal_ human. She's probably the easiest person I've ever kidnapped. If anything, she's weaker and dumber."

Lust smiled. "I don't know why you'd complain about the simplicity of taking a hostage."

"He likes the hunt," Wrath laughed.

"Exactly. For once the kid's not spouting dumb shit."

Wrath frowned and Sloth glared at Envy. She put her arms around the boy pulling him closer.

"Oh, don't fucking coddle him." Envy stomped his foot on the ground and stood. "I'll just go tie her up and leave her in that prison cell. He walked back and lifted the girl by the back of her dress, holding her like a briefcase.

"Why do you underestimate her?" Lust asked, smirking.

"She's a fucking human. Didn't I tell you how easy she was to knock out?"

Lust sighed. "She'll escape if you're so careless."

Envy glared, his eye twitched.

"You saw her perform alchemy. Weren't you paying attention?" She teased.

Envy shrugged.

"She doesn't need to draw a transmutation circle or create one with her hands. She can transmute anything she can see. Cover her eyes. And well." She looked down at Gluttony. "If she has any bit of vision of her surroundings, she can escape."

"Can't we just cut out her eyes?" Envy shook the girl a bit as if trying to knock something out of her clothes. "It'll make it easier to use her as a sacrifice."

"We need her alive and secure, but her eyes are important. Besides." She laughed. "Father doesn't want to use her as a sacrifice."

Envy raised an eyebrow. "Good thing I didn't kill the fullmetal pipsqueak, then."

Lust's eyes narrowed.

Envy smirked, then turned and walked to the door.

"Oh, and keep the light off."

Envy stopped in the doorway and glared at Lust. "You think I can't tie a cloth around someone's fucking eyes?"

Lust shrugged. "Just in case."

Envy walked out of the room. "It'd be easier to just cut out her eyes, you know," he shouted over his shoulder before slamming the door.

* * *

Her blue eyes opened slowly. She coughed. She felt dizzy and disoriented. Everything around her was black. Her eyes closed again.

Some time passed and her eyes opened again. Severe coughs rattled her lungs and her head throbbed. It felt as if she had water in her lungs. Had she drowned?

Emilee looked around and saw nothing. Awareness began to return and she realized she was sitting in a chair, wrists tied to the stiles and ankles to the chair legs. Something was on her face, blocking her vision. A bandana?

Memories floated back to her brain. Her mother, no, someone with green hair. He held a cloth over her face and she went unconscious. Her heart picked up speed.

"Help," She screamed, struggling against her binds. She couldn't see. She couldn't perform alchemy. "Someone, please." Tears poured down her cheeks.

How could she be so stupid. Following a stranger down a back alley. What was she even thinking? With each damning thought, her breathing grew harder and rougher and her head throbbed more. She bit her lip in frustration.

Emilee shook her head and took a few deep breaths. "It's okay," she told herself. "That green haired man. He wasn't human. Who would expect such a scenario?

It was true. Who would've anticipated something like that? Who would've figured that someone could change their appearance like that? But still, she felt pathetic and helpless.

She let herself wallow in self-pity for a while before pulling from the perturbing thoughts, finally accepting her situation. She was trapped. She needed to escape. But how?

Emilee looked around, though her vision was completely blocked by the confining cloth. She shook her head, willing the cloth to come loose. Her head dropped when she finally gave up. The violent head shaking accomplished nothing but invoking a return of the dizziness and compounding her headache. All her effort and she still saw nothing but the black material of the cloth.

She froze. "Nothing but the black material of the cloth," her mouth echoed what her mind had uttered. "The black material of the cloth." She began to laugh maniacally. How could she let herself be so overwhelmed to overlook this fact.

What was it made of? Felt like cotton. No, it was polyester.

She stared at the black material and there was a flash of light. It momentarily lit the dark room she was in, exposing the walls and ground to be made of stone. The ceiling had three bulbs dangling, lifeless like corpses. She didn't see the door. Was it behind her?

The knife, composed entirely of polyester, dropped behind her, barely being caught by her right hand. Emilee had compressed it as far as the molecular structure allowed. It created a dense material that wasn't as effective as steel, but still formed an edge sharp enough to slice through the ropes restricting her limbs.

Her fingers rotated the blade and she began to carefully saw through the rope around her right hand. Once that was cut and her right hand was free, she easily cut the ones gripping her left hand and both ankles.

Finally, free from her restraints, she stumbled through the dark with hands outstretched until her fingers met the stone wall. She felt her way along the edge of the room, gasping in relief when her hand found the door. She yanked on the handle but the locked, metal door didn't move. Not even slightly.

Her eyes had begun to adjust to the dark. She could see the surface of the door but stopped herself before deconstructing it. She didn't know what lay outside it. She needed to formulate a plan first. It would help to have some light.

She began feeling the wall on the left side of the door, brushing her hands across the surface. There were lights overhead, how did they turn on? "Where is the light switch?" She whispered, praying it wasn't located outside.

"Looking for this?" A voice teased.

The lights flipped on and she saw the spiky, green haired man facing her from the right side of the door. Before she could react, his hand reached out and grabbed her face. His fingers swiped her eyelids closed and pressed hard, shoving her head to the ground.

A thump vibrated through the room as the back of her head hit the stone floor. She was dazed for a few moments, but rapidly regained awareness. He was straddling her. She squirmed and tried to get out from under him but he was much heavier than he appeared. He held one of her hands down and she tried to force his hand off her eyes with the other. He managed to grab her other hand, holding both down with the same hand. Her legs kicked but made no difference.

He leaned in close to her ear, hot air on her neck. "I can't kill you and I'm not allowed to damage your eyes." He paused a moment, chuckling. "But that doesn't mean I can't hurt you elsewhere."

Emilee's breath caught in her throat.

"I can't let your attempt to escape go unpunished." He warned in a light voice as if she were a small child. He brushed something sharp along her upper arm, dragging it gently down and tickling the skin. "How about we start by cutting into your arms."

He had a hand on her eyes and was holding her arms with another. Emilee's mind raced. Did he have three arms? He was a monster.

He stopped halfway down her forearm and pressed it in harder.

"No, please." She screamed. "Don't!" She felt a sharp pain as the blade pierced the skin. "Stop!"

"Don't stop?" The man laughed maniacally. "I'm happy to oblige." He slowly dragged it up her arm, lengthening the laceration.

Emilee felt blood flow down the sides of her arm and drop to the floor. "No!" She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

The door opened and the man stopped, but left the sharp thing in her arm.

"Envy, what are you doing?" A sultry female voice asked.

"Don't worry about it."

"Help me," Emilee cried. "Please, help."

"That's not how we treat our guests, Envy."

"Guest?"

Emilee could feel her body shake as the man called Envy laughed.

"Why'd you put her in this room? What did you do to her?"

"You told me to put her here," Envy snarled.

"I told you to put her somewhere until she woke up. Not lock her in a prison cell and torture her when she did." The woman's footsteps came closer. "I told you not to hurt her."

"You told me not to damage her _eyes_ , Lust."

He reduced the pressure of the sharp object in her arm. Emilee felt relief even though the lack of pressure caused more blood to stream down her skin.

"Leave. Get out of here." Lust said, her voice irritated.

Envy tsked, pulled the sharp thing from her arm and climbed off her. Her eyes flickered open, just catching a glimpse of his back as he left.

The woman before her was beautiful. The most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. She wore a tight dress revealing cleavage, long gloves, and high-heeled boots. All were a deep black.

She kneeled down to Emilee and helped her sit up. Emilee wrapped her arms around the woman and sobbed into her clothes.

"Thank you," Emilee managed through her tears. "Thank you so much."

The woman pushed Emilee off her a bit and grabbed her arm to examine it. Blood still rolled down it, but had slowed from its original state. "Come, I think we have bandages in the other room."

Emilee followed her down the dim hallway. She remained as close to the woman as possible, constantly looking around in fear that Envy would return. If he did, she wouldn't have long to do any life-saving alchemy.

"What is Envy?" She asked quietly.

"Hmmm?"

"That thing isn't human. He changed his face. That's not normal."

"You could say that he's very excellent at using masks."

Emilee looked incredulous. "That was no mask. How did he even know what my mother looked like?"

"Here, this room has bandages." Lust said, leading the girl into a small bathroom.

* * *

Lust shut the door to the room. leaving Emilee placing pressure on the laceration. She stepped far back from the room and approached a very pissed of Envy who leaned against the wall down the hallway.

"What the fuck was that, Lust?"

"Sorry, Envy." Lust sighed. "I needed to get her on our side. I knew you'd do something like this."

Envy rolled his eyes.

"If I let you watch her, I could save her." She grinned. "Now, we don't have to worry about her trying to escape."

"You are evil." Envy laughed a moment but then his face scrunched in anger again. "But you aren't allowed to manipulate me like those humans."

"Sorry." Lust shrugged.

She went back, pulled the girl out, and walked her to the main room.

Envy followed, only far enough back to stay out of view.

He peered into the main room, careful to stay out of sight of the girl. The other homunculi surely were aware of his presence, but they said nothing.

Emilee sat on the edge of the circular sofa close to Lust, suspiciously eyeing the people around her. She withdrew when large eyes peered at her from the other side of Lust.

"Don't worry," Lust said, patting his head. "This is Gluttony, he's harmless."

Envy silently snickered. He'd never imagined anyone would describe Gluttony as being "harmless".

"That is Wrath, and she is Sloth." Lust gestured to each person as she said their name.

Wrath leaned forward in his seat, cocking his head, and peering at Emilee curiously.

"Those are all very interesting names." Emilee laughed nervously.

The group smiled at her.

She looked down and stared at her hands, the room was silent. She looked back up and tried to keep her voice steady. "So why am I here?"

Lust smiled. "We need your help."


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is chapter 4!**

 **It's a bit longer than the previous and the next chapters will continue to get longer.**

 **I designed a cover image for the story. I'm not fantastic at drawing so it's not very complex, but I hope it still fits the story.**

 **As usual, lemme know what you think! :)**

* * *

"What kind of help?" Emilee was confused. Why couldn't they just have asked her?

Lust placed her hands on Emilee's face and gently brushed around her eyes. "Your eyes allow you to perform, what some might consider to be, impossible alchemy. We need to learn how."

"How would that help you?"

"That part is hard to explain." Lust pulled her hands away. "But if you let us learn about your eyes, we might be able to help you become more skilled at using them. Equivalent exchange, right?"

Emilee nodded. "I didn't realize they were so different or important."

"You might not be using them to their full potential," Sloth added.

"You said your mother also could do this?" Lust asked.

Emilee nodded. "My grandmother too."

"What about your great grandmother?"

"I'm not sure." Emilee laughed nervously. "Probably, but I don't know."

"What about your father?"

"I don't know who my father is." Emilee looked down at her hands. "I never saw him, even in pictures, and my mother never talked about him. I didn't even know people had fathers until I went to school."

"Your grandfather?"

"Same thing. Never met him, no one ever talked about him."

"That's interesting." Lust laughed. "Did you ever ask your mom about this?"

"I asked her why I didn't have a father like everyone else in the town a few times, but she always blew me off by saying the same thing: You'll know when you're older." Emilee frowned. "But she died before she got a chance to tell me."

"How'd she die?"

"She built the town I lived in from the ground up, as a solace to refugees or people who needed a good place to live. I was a very small child at the time. She continued to care for the town and I helped. But when I was 14, one day, she just didn't come home. I got a phone call-" Emilee paused and took a breath. "The hospital called. They told me she was found unconscious near the edge of town. She never woke up and died a few days later. No one ever really knew what happened."

"What happened to your grandmother? Why didn't she take you in?"

"She died two years before my mother did."

"How?"

"Her heart went out. But she was really old."

"Can I see this 'ability'?" Sloth asked.

Lust didn't wait for Emilee's answer, pulling her to her feet and walking her across the room. She grabbed a book off a table and handed it to Emilee.

Emlee accepted the item and stared at it. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Destroy it." Lust laughed.

Sloth and Wrath walked up to them while Gluttony leaned forward in his seat for a better look. Both Sloth and Lust watched the girl's eyes closely.

Emilee stared at the book. For a brief moment, her eyes shifted from blue to a deep violet, an identical shade to that of the homunculi. It was only a flash, but as the color faded the book exploded. Shredded paper fluttered through the air and settled gently on the floor.

Envy, from his vantage point just outside the room, raised an eyebrow at the sight.

Lust and sloth looked at each other, but said nothing.

"Hey, Wrath." Sloth rubbed his back. "Go show Emilee where she can sleep."

The boy nodded and stood up. He walked out one of the doors, Emilee cautiously following.

* * *

Lust and Sloth returned to their seats slowly. "That was very strange," Sloth muttered.

Lust glanced at Sloth. "Her eyes are interesting but are these women being produced without a father?"

"Clones?" Sloth mused.

"That can't be it." Lust sighed. "I'm not sure about her grandmother, but she's not identical to her mother. They're similar, but not the same."

"So we have at least three generations of women, with no known fathers, who all have this ability. None are clones, and there are no patterns in their deaths."

"Strange." Lust laughed.

Envy stepped into the room. "Wow," he said sarcastically. "Fascinating. Why do we care?"

Lust met his eyes. "Because if these women aren't being produced by normal human procreation…How are they being made?" She looked back at Sloth. "She isn't a homunculi. But I agree with Father. I don't think she's human. Not entirely, at least."

"Her abilities are reminiscent of Father's." Sloth leaned back and looked up. "But she isn't like him."

* * *

Emilee lay in the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was nothing like her bright bedroom at home. While she hated it, it was nice to be in a place that was less empty.

Her arm was still tightly bandaged but didn't hurt as much as it had earlier. She rolled onto the other side to avoid putting pressure on it.

She closed her eyes but couldn't sleep. She couldn't stay here. She needed to go home. Emilee wasn't sure why they had actually brought her here. She was pretty sure what they had told her was at least mostly true. But they certainly weren't telling her everything.

She gripped the pillow and closed her eyes. She couldn't stay there long, she needed to go home.

* * *

Envy slipped from the hideout, making his way back to Emilee's town. It was the middle of night and the town was lifeless. It was so small, there was only one hospital.

He waited outside until a nurse left. She was a small blonde, talking to a man. Once she had descended the stairs and made her way down the street, he took her form and walked into the hospital.

"Kanna. What are you doing here?" The receptionist looked up from a computer. "I thought you left?"

"I just forgot something." Envy sighed.

The receptionist looked back down and Envy explored the backrooms, eventually coming across one that was full of file cabinets. He grinned when he realized they were alphabetized. So easy.

He grabbed Marion Avarie's file.

* * *

Emilee woke up in an unfamiliar bed. She glanced around the room, confused until she remembered the previous day. She lay in bed for a while, not sure what to do.

Eventually she stood up and carefully opened the door, peering both ways. The hallway was empty and she quietly retraced the steps that Wrath had guided her. She wanted to find Lust or Sloth—anyone but Envy—nearby.

There was no one in the main room. She sat on the couch and debated returning to her bedroom. Looking down at her arm, she found the bandages were caked with dried blood. They needed to be changed.

Lust had shown Emilee the room with bandages the previous day and she was certain she remembered where it was.

In the room, Emilee pulled the bandages off. She hesitated before looking at the wound, reluctant to see what the damage was. She finally looked down and took a deep inhale. The gash was deep and probably would've benefited from stitches.

She cleaned the wound in the sink and bandaged it tightly.

"Looks like I did a good job, huh?"

Emilee screamed at the sound of his voice and fell back against the wall. She crouched and looked up, preparing to defend herself. But the doorway was empty.

He was gone.

* * *

"I did some research and I believe I found her father." Lust held up a photo of a young man with pale skin, short black hair and brown eyes. She raised a photo of Emilee as a comparison, showing the resemblance between the pair.

"Great!" Sloth said, Wrath clapping his hands beside her. "How'd you find him?"

Lust smiled seductively. "I have my ways."

"Who is he?"

"He was a state alchemist. He was referred to as the Earth Alchemist due to his exceptional ability at transmuting rock and earth. About 17 years ago he disappeared after traveling through a small town."

"Emilee's town?"

Lust nodded. "The girl is 16 years old so the timing is perfect. But it's odd that he disappeared. There was an investigation but nothing was ever determined. He seemed to have simply vanished."

They walked to the main room and saw Emilee sitting on the couch. Her skin looked even paler than usual and she seemed a bit nervous. Her head turned sharply when they came in the room.

"Good, you're awake." Sloth said as she took a seat. Wrath followed her like a puppy.

"You okay?" Lust noticed her bandages were fresh.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emilee forced a smile.

"I have some fresh clothes." Lust tossed her a bag she'd been carrying loosely in one of her hands.

Emilee stared at the bag and then looked back up in Lust. "How long do I need to stay here?"

Lust laughed. "As long as it takes."

"I need to go home. I have to care for my garden and I promised someone I'd help them with their fence. My mom's flowers need to be replaced."

"Don't worry. We'll get you back as soon as we can."

* * *

Emilee was directed back to her room. She changed her clothes, replacing her dirty blue summer dress with a pair of shorts and a black, short-sleeved shirt. She found a brush on the edge of the sink in the bathroom and carefully fixed her hair in the mirror.

She stared at her reflection. This whole situation felt like a dream. She kept feeling as if she would suddenly jerk awake in her home, gasping at how real it had felt.

Days passed. Lust and Sloth were the ones who interacted with her the most, though Wrath and Gluttony were often curious of her. They had her perform alchemy and asked her questions. Lust once even shined a light in her eyes, trying to examine them through her pupils.

She didn't see Envy but constantly checked her surroundings, determined to not let him sneak up on her again.

* * *

"You're going to have to interact with her you know." Lust stared at Envy.

He was leaning against the wall in front of her. "Why?"

"You don't want to help us?"

"I just don't care." He glanced at her. "I'm not allowed to hurt her, so why should I be interested?"

Lust sighed and leaned against the wall next to him. "Because Father wants us to figure this out."

"You guys can do that." He stood up and walked down the hall, into the dark, away from her. "Let me know when she's no longer needed and I can kill her."

Lust chuckled. "You can pretend all you want. But we both know you're finding her case interesting."

Envy stormed back towards her. He put his face close to her's, his eye twitching. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw the files."

Envy's eyes widened and he backed off. He turned around and walked back down the hall, leaving without a response.

Lust smirked as she watched him disappear into the dark. She had glanced through the files he had taken but didn't see anything useful. It was interesting that he continued to hold onto them, despite the lack of useful information contained within the folders.

* * *

Days turned to weeks.

Emilee began to count each day by placing a scratch mark on one of the walls in her room. The many facets of the house became more clear as she learned her way through the maze. Gradually she began to gain a good understanding of the place she was living, but with one exception. She had no idea where the exit was.

Envy and Sloth pressed her to perform numerous applications of alchemy, all skills she has known before. Emilee became convinced that she was already at the max of her abilities.

They began to run out of new questions to ask her. Maybe this wasn't something that could be solved. She hoped that they would realize this soon and let her return home.

Lust and Sloth, however, were determined to make sense of the information before them.

* * *

One day, as Emilee walked down the hall to the library, the one place she could find some solace, she saw a figure walking towards her. She froze at the identification of green, spiky hair. Her body leaned against the wall as if she could squeeze herself through the cracks.

He stopped when he stood next to her. His eyes passed over her, pausing as they focused on her arm. The bandage had been removed, leaving the pink scar exposed. His eyes moved to her face.

Emilee avoided eye contact and stared straight ahead.

"You look like a frightened deer."

Emilee didn't respond.

He sighed. "I'm not allowed to hurt you. It's pathetic that you're still acting like I'm going to."

Her eyes flipped over to his and she glared. "I'm not pathetic. You cut my arm open. Who wouldn't be afraid of you after that?"

He shrugged and laughed, an evil grin on his face. "Just saying." He kept walking.

Emilee turned and watched him walk away.

She ran to the mirror in her room and stared at her reflection. The person staring back at her did look like a deer. Pale, frightened with eyes wide. She shook her head violently. "I am not afraid. I am not afraid. I am not afraid." She looked back in the mirror with eyes fierce. "I am not fucking afraid."

* * *

After a shower, a few days later, she found Envy leaning against the wall just outside the door. Had he been waiting on her there? He smirked and she was glad to have dressed before leaving the bathroom.

This was one of those times that she wished the bathroom in her bedroom had a shower.

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Just leaning." He turned and started running towards her, eyes wicked. He stopped a few feet from her, looking disappointed when she didn't jump or cower.

"I'm not afraid of you." Emilee stood straight and met his eyes.

"You sure about that?"

She stared into his eyes and didn't back down. "I said that I'm not afraid of you."

He laughed and walked away. He stopped only a bit further down. "You just became a bit more interesting," he called over his shoulder before continuing.

Emilee watched him until he disappeared around a corner. She wasn't sure why, but he seemed to be acting different than he had before. He was still threatening, but significantly less malicious.

* * *

 _Emilee walked through the maze of the building she now resided in, making her way to the main room. When she opened the door, she found the room devoid of life._

 _A few steps in, the door shut behind her and the room began to fall apart. The couch incinerated. The ceiling turned black. The walls crumbled. The floor split and the pieces descended into black, pulling Emilee into the dark._

 _She was standing in the void. She felt someone's eyes watching her, weighing heavily on the back of her neck. She looked around but was unable to identify the source._

 _"There you are." Envy said from behind her._

 _She turned around. He stood tall in front of her, his face bearing a malicious grin._

 _Emilee backed away but he grabbed her, forced her eyes closed, and pushed her deeper into the abyss._

 _She was falling into the emptiness, unable to see. She fought, adamantly. But he didn't relent._

 _His lips pressed against hers._

Emilee gasped and sat up in bed. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Well that was weird." Emilee tried to regain her breath. Her face was flushed. "What the fuck is wrong with me?" She shook her head and groaned. She felt disgusting for even having that dream. "Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with me?"

She passed Envy in the hall, an event that seemed to be occurring increasingly more frequently. He looked at her and her cheeks turned red. He raised an eyebrow and she quickly hurried by him, covering her face with her hands.

She walked into the bathroom and stared at the scar on her arm in the mirror. How disgusting it was to have such a dream about a person who would do this to her. Was this Stockholm syndrome?

Emilee squeezed her eyes closed and bit her lip. She wanted to go home. Being trapped here was making her go crazy. Why else would she have such an odd fantasy?

Someone knocked on the door. "Emilee?" She heard Wrath's voice.

She opened the door and looked down at the child.

"Mommy says she has something important to show you."

She followed him back to the main room and found Sloth sitting in the couch. "Thank you, Wrath." She gave him a warm hug. The boy ran off and disappeared back into the winding hallways.

Emilee took a seat across from her. She tried to keep her mind focused on the woman in front of her.

"We found your father and grandfather."

"Really? Are they alive?" She quickly latched on to the thought of having some family.

Sloth made an odd, indescribable face. "No."

Emilee was disappointed but not shocked. She'd lived without family for so many years, she found it hard to expect that to change.

"Do you want to see them? I have pictures."

Emilee shook her head. "If they're dead, why is it important to tell me about them?"

"Because they both died in similar circumstances."

"What do you mean?"

"Your father was a state alchemist who passed through your town and disappeared right around the time you were conceived. Your grandfather was a doctor who passed through the village your grandmother lived, and he disappeared around the time your mother would've been conceived."

Emilee was confused. That couldn't be right. "I don't understand. You said they disappeared. So they aren't dead, they're just missing."

Sloth gave her a hard look. "Your father has been missing for 17 years and your grandfather for almost 60."

"They can't be dead," Emilee said. "My mother and grandmother were kind, gentle people. They couldn't have killed anybody. They SAVED people."

"Didn't your mother tell you multiple times that your lack of a father was something you'd learn when you were older?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that means she killed him. Maybe it's just a coincidence." Emilee took a deep breath. "It has to be a coincidence."


	5. Chapter 5

**Yes, in this chapter, things are finally going to get a bit faster!**

 **I have done my best to ensure the relationship doesn't develop too quickly (something unrealistic, that often bothers me about other fanfiction).**

 **I love reading the comments so let me know what you think!**

 **Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Emilee etched another line into the wall, counting 35 hashmarks. Every day she began to feel more like a prisoner than a captive and she wondered if people in the town were looking for her.

She sat on the floor and leaned against the bed, gazing at the scratches that marred the wall. Her mother wasn't a killer. She couldn't be. Neither could her grandmother. She closed her eyes. People go missing all the time, it had to be a coincidence.

Despite her forceful dismissal of the circumstances, deep in her mind she was afraid that it wasn't something innocuous like an unlucky concurrence.

* * *

Envy sat on his bed and stared at the files in front of him. He made no movement to open them, considering his options of whether or not to use the information contained within the neat stacks of paper.

"Why are you still holding onto those?" Lust asked.

Envy leaned back and stared at her upside-down as she pressed her side into the frame of his door. "What would you do with them?"

Lust laughed. "I'd throw them away or stick them in the library. They're devoid of useful information, so I don't know why you continue to hoard them in your bedroom."

Envy smirked.

"You think there is something important in them or what? You want to share with the rest of the class?"

Envy shrugged.

"You aren't going to tell me?"

He winked at her and stood up before walking to the drawer across the room.

"Why do you insist on having that dresser anyways? You don't need clothes with your ability."

"I use them for storage," he said as he set them in the top drawer.

"Then just get a cabinet or bookshelf."

He shut the drawers.

"Your turn to watch her. She hasn't left her room and we can't let her spend the day in there without supervision."

Envy turned around. "No."

Lust sighed. "You can't keep doing this."

"I'm not interested in babysitting a human if I can't torture her."

"She's not entirely human, like us and Father."

He leaned against the dresser. That was true.

"Either help us or I'll tell Father."

"Oh, so you'll tattle on me?" He glared at her.

"I prefer to call it: giving Father updates."

"Fuck you."

Lust waved her finger back and forth like a pendulum. "Better get to watching."

* * *

Emilee's door burst open and the event almost startled her off the bed.

Envy stomped into the room, slammed the door behind him, and sat against the wall opposite of the bed. He didn't say anything, crossed his arms, and fixed his gaze on the right wall.

"Umm.. Hello?" Emilee looked around the room, not sure why he'd arrived, especially in such an apoplectic mood.

He provided no response and simply continued his staring contest with the drywall.

"Why are you here?"

His silence persisted.

Emilee sighed and picked up the book she'd taken from the library. She glanced up, occasionally, finding him in the exact same position. For some time, the only sound in the room was the occasional turn of a page.

"What are you reading?"

Emilee looked up, a bit surprised to hear his voice. His eyes were still aimed at the wall, however.

"It's on different types of alchemy."

"Why?"

"Just seemed interesting. I wondered if, since my eyes are supposedly so special, I could use them for some benefit. Or if maybe I could find something in here about people like me."

"There's nothing in there about anyone with your skill."

"How do you know?"

He sighed. "Lust has read all of those books. If it was in there, she would have brought it up already."

"I just don't know why she cares so much. It's not like I can improve them any further and I'm not sure if anyone will ever know what's behind them."

Envy opened his mouth and then shut it, leaning his head back against the wall.

"What?"

He didn't respond for a few moments.

Emilee began eyeing the book in front of her, debating whether to resume reading. She lifted her head when Envy stood up and walked towards her. He sat on the bed next to her and she quickly turned and scooted over.

She wasn't sure what to do or say and stared at the dresser across the room.

Envy finally spoke. "Your eyes are useful, but they are also a weakness."

"What do you mean?"

He quickly raised his hand, swiped her eyelids closed, and pressed her head down. He managed to grab both her hands in his other.

Her heart picked up speed and the scar on her arm burned. She winced, reluctant to relive that traumatic experience.

"See? Someone can easily shut your eyes or gouge them out. You've never had to use a transmutation circle so you'd be completely helpless." He pulled off of her and sat back on the bed.

Emilee sat up. "So, I'm screwed basically."

"Not exactly." Envy grinned. "I don't think your eyes are necessary."

"You just said I'd be helpless if I lost them."

"Helpless right now. But the alchemy you're doing is happening in your brain, not your eyes."

"How do you know?"

"Follow me."

* * *

Emilee followed him to what she assumed was his room. He grabbed some files from a drawer in a dresser and sat on the bed. She joined him.

"This is the document detailing your mother at her hospital stay." He handed it to her.

"How did you get this?" She asked as she accepted the files.

He didn't answer.

"It doesn't say anything I don't already know," Emilee said as she flipped through the pages.

"It does."

"It says she was found unconscious and that she didn't regain it. Then even with treatment, she died a few days later."

"You're doing the same thing as Lust. You're looking in the wrong place."

She looked up at Envy. "What?"

"You're looking at the treatment and symptoms. Look at the biographical."

Emilee quickly flipped to the page.

"Check eye color."

"Eye color: violet." She froze. "But my mom had blue eyes."

"Exactly. What was she doing that day?"

"She was working. It was just a typical day."

"Was it typical for her to use her alchemy for long hours over many days in succession?"

Emilee nodded. "You're saying there's a limit to its use?"

"Basically."

"But my grandmother used hers throughout her long life and she never had issues."

"It's not a limitation on a number of uses."

"It's a limitation on frequency," Emilee said softly.

"Exactly. But this implies something very important."

She set the papers down and looked at him.

"It means that the eyes are a red herring. Your alchemic ability is being performed, at least mostly, in the brain."

"Then why do my eyes change color?"

"It's complicated, but I think that the light is coming from behind your eyes and that's what changes the eye color."

"So, if it's not happening in my eyes, I don't need them? My mother and grandmother always had to use them."

"I think they underestimated the limits of this ability."

"How do I use alchemy without sight?"

"It'll take practice, but I believe you can do it as long as you have a good enough visual memory. It's possible you don't even have to have any visual input at all. I can help you if you want."

Emilee stared at the green haired man in awe. "I don't know what to say."

"A thank you seems appropriate."

"Thank you, Envy." She smiled and leaned in. Before she knew what she was doing, she pressed her lips against his.

Envy's eyes widened.

Emilee jerked back. "I am so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." She stood up and ran from the room, wishing away the red flush on her cheeks.

"Wait, I'm supposed to watch you!" He shouted before groaning and falling back on the bed. "Whatever," he mumbled.

Emilee made it back to her room and hurried directly into the bathroom. She stared at her reflection and tried to understand what was happening to her. She shook her head and focused desperately on pushing those confusing thoughts from her mind.

* * *

Envy lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't understand what was going on with that strange girl. Blushing, kissing him, what the fuck was up with her?

He couldn't deny that she was attractive, but he couldn't ever develop feelings for a disgusting human. Even the thought of it revolted him. His thoughts paused.

 _"She's not a normal human." Lust said._

 _"She isn't a homunculus. But I agree with Father. I don't think she's human. Not entirely, at least."_

 _"She's not entirely human, like us and Father."_

He closed his eyes. Was it true that she wasn't human?

* * *

"Why aren't you watching her?" Lust opened the door with such angry force, the handle left a dent in the wall.

Envy's eyes opened and he stared at her. "I was!"

She crossed her arms and glowered.

"It's true! Ask her!"

"Why aren't you watching her _now,_ Envy."

"She ran off."

Lust sighed. "You're hopeless."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You couldn't follow her?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you were _supposed to be watching her_."

"Whatever, kill me." He closed his eyes again.

His eyes flickered open as her nail punctured his abdomen. He stared down at the nail, going deep into his flesh. He could feel the point make its way through his stomach before breaking the skin on his back, scratching the sheets underneath him.

She retracted it abruptly, and he coughed up blood. Through the hole, he could see his organs. The wound spilled blood for a brief period and steadily shrunk to a tiny dot.

His eyes shot up and he wiped the blood off his mouth with his forearm. "Lust. The fuck?"

She shrugged. "You told me to kill you." Her body shook as she laughed on her way out, not bothering to shut the door.

* * *

"I want you to watch Emilee again today." Lust stood in his doorway, a hand on her hip.

"Fuck no, I did that yesterday."

Lust rolled her eyes. "I don't think I would label what you did as 'watching her'."

He stared at the ceiling. "I'd rather do anything but that."

"Okay." Lust nodded. "Your other option is to take care of Gluttony or Wrath."

Envy leapt to his feet and sped past Lust. "I'll watch Emilee."

"She's in her room," Lust called after him with a grin.

* * *

Emilee was reading her book in bed, almost finished. Envy was right, there wasn't anything about anyone similar to her contained within the pages.

Envy walked into the room, slammed the door, and sat back on the ground against the wall again.

Emilee pulled the book closer until it was brushing her nose. She couldn't read the pages when they were that close, but it was very effective at hiding her face from the man across from her.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Emilee pulled the book closer to her face. "Reading." She wished he would leave and ease the uncomfortable atmosphere.

He sighed. "It was easier when you were afraid of me."

She let the book move a few inches away from her face. "Why?"

"You were predictable. Now you're just fucking weird."

She slammed the book down on the bed. " _I_ am not weird. _This situation_ is what is fucking weird." She glared at him. "You guys fucking kidnapped me. I want to go home." She was screaming as the words poured from her mouth.

"Good luck with that." He laughed.

She grabbed the book and threw it at him with all her strength.

He caught the book easily in one hand. "Thanks," he said. "How nice of you." He opened it, leaned back against the wall, and quietly read.

"I have friends in my town. My garden is probably dead."

"If your garden is dead, then why do you care? It's not like going home would fix that." He didn't look up from the book.

"I can plant new ones." She was flustered and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Mhmm."

Her breathing was ragged. She watched as he flipped a page. "Give that back."

"No."

She turned over and buried her face in the pillow. "Just go away."

"Can't. Lust is pissed off I didn't watch you the whole time yesterday."

"I'm 16, I don't need to be watched." She bit her lip. "I wouldn't, at least, if I wasn't a fucking prisoner here."

"Well, sucks to be you."

She flipped onto her back again. "I can't believe I actually liked you," she cried. But once the pitiful words left her lips she covered her mouth.

Envy closed the book and sighed. "I'm not someone you should like."

Emilee didn't move her hands or respond but tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm probably the worst thing to care about in this fucking place."

Her hands moved to cover her eyes. "I know," she whimpered.

"I mean, I know I look good." He smirked. "But if I wasn't the only guy here I doubt you'd have any interest in me."

She felt the book hit the side of her body. She looked over, wiping tears on her sleeve.

The book was lying next to her and Envy was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "There. Read your dumb book."

Emilee sat in silence for an hour, pretending to read. She wasn't sure whether she was dejected or just frustrated, but she was unable to concentrate on the words. Yet, she continued moving her eyes across the page, and turning to the next one within an appropriate time frame.

Envy had closed his eyes and appeared to be sleeping.

Was he right? Did she only like him because he was the only guy here? She was confident in her sexuality, she knew wasn't gay. Maybe bi, but not gay.

Emilee shook her head. She'd never liked anyone before, not like this. But, as he himself admitted, he wasn't a good person. Not at all. He cut her fucking arm open on her first day here. So why?

"Envy?"

"Hmm?"

Emilee sat up. "I—I don't think that you're right."

Envy opened his eyes. "About what?"

"It's that—It's not because—I don't—I mean."

"Jeez. Just fucking get it out already."

"I don't like you just because you're the only guy here. I'm not sure why. But I've never liked _anyone_ before. I'm crazy… I'm fucking stupid. I don't know." She hugged her knees.

"That has got to be the absolutely worst fucking confession I've ever heard of." He began laughing hysterically.

"It's not fucking funny!"

She threw the book at him again and he, once more, caught it, easily, in one hand. He grinned at her and she laughed a bit.

* * *

"Okay, so here's a book." Envy set it on the ground in one of the many empty rooms in the place.

"Really? I would've guessed it was a tree."

He rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny."

"Why does it have to be a book?" Emilee stood six feet from the object, eyeing it cautiously.

"Because that's the one fucking thing we have a billion of."

"So what do I do?"

"Look at the book and remember its location. Close your eyes and do whatever you do while looking at it, but instead picture it. Or something. I don't know, to be honest. I can't perform alchemy."

"You can't?" Emilee scoffed. "Then why am I trusting you with learning something like this?"

"Just shut-up and try it." He groaned. "In theory, there should be some way for you to do it."

"In theory…" Emilee rolled her eyes.

She stared at the book on the ground, memorizing its appearance and exactly where it was located. Envy leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his signature pose, and watched. She closed her eyes, pictured the book and focused. She transmuting the image.

There was a long pause.

"Nothing's happening," Envy declared.

"I'm aware."

She focused harder. She tried to picture what would happen when it was transmuted. She tried looking at the book again. She tried just deconstructing it.

"Nothing's happening."

Emilee sighed and sat on the ground. "This might be possible in theory, but I don't think it works in reality."

"Babies." Envy made a disgusted face as he imagined a human child.

Emilee crossed her arms. "I hope you're not trying to say that _I'm_ a baby."

"No." He shook his head. "Babies can't walk at first. They see their parents do it. They have the legs for it, but all they can do is crawl. It takes forever for them to figure it out, and even then, it takes time to get good at it. Just because all a toddler can do is crawl, doesn't mean it's impossible for them to walk."

"Well aren't you philosophical!"

"I don't know if I'd call that philosophical." He scratched his head. "I just don't think you should give up so easily."

* * *

Lust entered the main room with Sloth. Envy and Emilee weren't in sight. She checked Emilee's bedroom and then Envy's. She returned to the main room and stared at Sloth on the couch. "Where do you think they went?"

She shrugged. "At least this means that he's watching her."

"That's true." Lust laughed a bit maniacally before settling on the couch herself.

* * *

"I have an idea." Envy tapped his foot.

"What?"

"Why don't you try doing it immediately after you close your eyes, instead of thinking so much about it first."

"That's not a whole lot more useful if I can only do it shortly after I close my eyes."

"I'm just saying to try it."

Emilee shrugged. Stared at the book, closed her eyes, and immediately transmuted the image in her head.

There was a strange popping noise. Her eyes flipped open and she saw pages fluttering around the room.

She spun around and watched them fall, not ready to believe that it had worked.

Envy gave her a round of applause.

"I did it." She danced a bit before running to Envy and hugging him. He made a face and didn't hug her back, but didn't make any movement to push her away. She drew back a bit and glanced at the destroyed book. "I still don't think being able to do that, alone, is extremely useful."

"It's not." Envy nodded. "But I think we're just scratching the surface."


	6. Chapter 6

**If you've been curious about Emilee's abilities, I have good news for you about this chapter! :D  
(The trade-off being a LOT of dialogue in this chapter).**

 **After the next chapter (chap. 7) the updates will not come out quite as frequently as they are now but I'll still always do my best to get at least one out per week.**

 **Follow the story to get notifications on updates!**

 **As always: read, review, and enjoy! :)**

* * *

"Wow, Envy. I must say. I didn't think _you_ would see something that _I_ didn't notice. And that she can do it with her eyes closed, that's incredible. I'm impressed. _Very surprised_ and impressed."

For a moment Envy relished in the acknowledgement but then his expression twisted. "Wait. Lust, what the fuck is that supposed to mean? You think I'm not capable of figuring shit out?"

Lust laughed but quickly calmed her composure. "Sloth will want to hear this. We've been at a dead-end for so long—I think this might help us finally clear this mystery."

Envy nodded.

* * *

"Hey, Emilee." Lust opened the girl's bedroom door. "Sloth and I wanted to show you someth—Why are you in here?"

Envy looked over from his position on the floor by the dresser. "Watching Emilee."

Emilee's eyes snapped to the door, the book in her hand now resting on the bed.

"But I only asked you to do that yesterday." She looked perplexed.

"I know."

Lust's puzzled expression was replaced by a smirk. "Well isn't that interesting."

"Shut-up."

Emilee looked back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what to make of the weird interaction. It seemed everyone but Envy was frozen in a state of bafflement.

"Something to show me?" Emilee finally asked.

Her question pulled Lust back from her silent focus on Envy. "Yes. We figured something out." She paused. "Thanks to Envy."

Emilee met Envy's eyes and smiled.

He smiled in return.

Lust looked back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what to make of this weird interaction. She slowly backed out into the hallway. "We'll be in the other room."

* * *

They walked together from the other room.

Emilee sat on the couch and Envy sat next to her.

"So, what did you guys figure out?" Emilee asked.

"We now think we know what exactly gives you this ability."

Emilee sat up in her seat. "What is it?"

"First, there is something important for you to know. We've known it for a long time but didn't want to bring it up until we knew enough about your circumstances."

"What is it?" Emilee eyed Lust cautiously.

"You aren't human."

Emilee's heart picked up speed and she stood up. "I am human."

Sloth shook her head. "You aren't. Just like us."

"You aren't human?" Emilee's eyes darting between the creatures around her.

"No. Have you noticed our tattoos?"

Emilee nodded. She'd noticed the odd ouroboros tattoos, a snake eating its own tail, already. She'd always assumed they were some sort of gang-related identification.

"Those who have these, like us, are homunculi. We're artificial humans."

Emilee sat down again. She opened her mouth but no words came.

"Which brings us to you." Lust said slowly.

"I—I am—I'm _not_ artificial." Emilee felt like she couldn't control her mouth. "I'm just a normal person. I live in a normal house and have a normal garden. I'm normal." Tears clouded her vision.

"You are not artificial in the same way we are. You have your own complete soul."

Emilee's eyes flitted to Envy. He didn't have his _own_ complete soul? What were these fucking things? "What are you trying to say? What are you trying to tell me?" Emilee's voice was on the verge of cracking.

"We found that men who visited your mother's town and grandmother's village sometimes disappeared. This has happened throughout each location's history."

"Impossible. My family wouldn't hurt anyone."

"At first a murder might have been anticipated, but no bodies were ever found.'

"My family wasn't responsible."

Sloth sighed. "Emilee, you need to calm down. This is the truth and we're trying to help you."

Emilee bit her lip.

"We looked everywhere at first, trying to find any information on someone who has eyes with such an ability. For a while we believed that there wasn't an explanation that we could uncover." Lust paused and grinned at Envy. "But after the revelation that it wasn't your eyes that the abilities could be attributed to, we searched for information on the brain."

"That's when we found it," Sloth tossed in.

"About 110 years ago, there was a doctor and alchemist named Dr. Ren Oenard who was researching methods for improvements in alchemic abilities. His goal was to create a human who was capable of extremely powerful alchemy, focusing on altering the chemistry of the brain." Lust couldn't contain her excitement at the discovery of this information. "He experimented on his daughter, Lynne Oenard, your maternal great grandmother who was an infant."

Emilee cringed in disgust. Experimenting on his own infant daughter?

"He supposedly altered the DNA that controls development of, primarily, the brain."

"What do you mean? What did he alter?" Emilee's face began to turn white in this continued, disturbing progression of her fright.

"That is mostly uncertain. His work was considered far too dangerous and unethical. Ultimately, he lost his funding and his work after that point is unknown."

"You don't know anything more?" She was both curious and repulsed.

Sloth smiled. "Information about his success is unknown—although your existence proves that it was—but we can look at his theories and plans."

Lust nodded. "His theory was that if he created a system, by which souls could be absorbed and directed into the brain, the souls could be harnessed as energy. This didn't create a philosopher's stone, but seemed to open the gate and provide knowledge. Father has seen the gate many times and has similar abilities to you."

"What do you mean 'the gate'?" Emilee asked.

"It's a body of immense knowledge that allows the use of alchemy to those who have it." Sloth said. "It's like the essence of life itself."

"Every time a soul is absorbed, as the theory implies, the gate opens either again or further, giving an increase in power." Lust said.

"But how could that even work? How could I end up with this if it was done so long ago?"

"My guess, is that he changed the genetics so that the brain and other parts of the body contained or formed structures that were shaped like transmutation circles. If he got that far, I doubt making it hereditary would be much of an issue, if not already incidental." Sloth said.

"I believe that your mother and grandmother periodically collected souls throughout their lives. Since we know for certain it happened every time of conception, it probably occurs during sex. A soul absorbed during pregnancy likely starts the process within the descendant, possibly along with part of the souls already collected by the mother."

Emilee just stared at the table. "What the hell does that make me?"

Lust and Sloth looked at each other.

Envy began laughing so hard he could hardly speak. "A succubus?"

Emilee stood again, this time with confidence. "You are all lying. That is impossible. It's just speculation. It's a coincidence. I am a normal human who you kidnapped. You're messing with my mind." She turned and walked back to her room without speaking another word.

* * *

Emilee lay in bed for a long time, just staring at the ceiling in silence. Who were they fooling? That was insane. She wasn't a succubus.

She sat up and glanced at the 41 marks on the wall, then looked at her hands. She needed to escape.

But Emilee let her hands fall and she collapsed back on the bed. She had no idea where the exit was. She could just transmute her way through the walls…but she had no idea where she was and the noise would alert all the "homunculi". If she was in a mountain, the wrong direction could send her to an immense wall of rock, with the homunculi easily able to recapture her.

She remembered her attempt to escape on the first day and hesitantly peered down at the scar on her arm. Who knows what they would do to her if she tried again. Lust probably wouldn't intervene this time.

Emilee cried into her sheets with the revelation that she might die in this prison.

Her door opened and Envy walked in. He walked across the room and sat against the wall where he always sat. The room settled in silence for a few minutes.

"You know, absorbing human souls is pretty fucking cool."

"Shut up. It's just a fucked-up lie."

Envy sighed. "It's not."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because it's the truth." He rubbed the back of his head, stood up and sat on the edge of the bed she was sprawled across.

She refused to look at him.

"Don't hate it or you'll just hate yourself."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Accept it and be proud of it. Emilee, you're better than humans, more powerful with more potential. Why be so dissatisfied with an amazing fact?"

Emilee wiped tears from her eyes and sat up. "Why do you always know what to say?"

"I've been around for 135 years."

Emilee laughed sadly. "Yeah, right."

He stood turned to face her. Suddenly he was a tall ishvalan. Then a young woman with tight, blond curls. Then he was Envy again.

"What the hell are you?"

"Like Lust said, we're homunculi. We all have abilities like this. Just like you, we are better than humans. Much better."

She stared at him. "I don't want this."

"Well. It's what you've got."

She looked down.

Envy grabbed her shoulders, pushed her back onto the bed, and placed his lips against hers.

Emilee's eyes widened for a moment until the initial sense of shock passed. She let her eyes close and placed her arms around him, kissing him back.

The moment lasted for a few minutes but, to Emilee, felt like mere seconds.

He pulled away and brushed hair out of her face. "You should get some sleep."

* * *

It was morning. Envy was lying in bed. Finding out Emilee wasn't human had seemed to break a barrier in his mind. She could certainly be annoying, but she annoyed him much less than everyone else. Was that love?

He laughed at such a ridiculous thought and sat up, wondering if Emilee was awake yet.

He crept through the house, placing bare feet on the cold stone floor, on a straight path to her room. He opened the door and saw her reading on the bed, as usual.

She looked up at him and set the book down. "Envy. What's up?"

For the first time, he sat on the bed instead of his usual spot. "Just got bored."

It was a lie. He'd wanted to see her, but he would never admit it.

There was a period of silence. Their feelings remained confusing and neither of them was sure what exactly to do.

He turned and kissed her for a moment but then pulled his head back. She stared at him, disappointed.

"You know," Envy said. "I only like you because you're not human."

Emilee's face twisted in confusion. "Why?"

"Because I hate humans."

"But I don't."

"I know." He smiled and pressed his lips against hers again. "I have a feeling you'll change your mind eventually. I mean think about that horrible human who tested on his own child."

"What if I don't?"

He smirked. "As long as _you_ aren't human, I can accept it."

He pressed his lips against her passionately and pushed her back onto the bed. She gasped a bit as he left a trail of kisses down her jaw before biting her neck. She leaned her head to the other side, offering more of her neck.

His hands began to unbutton her blouse but she grabbed them to stop him.

He cocked his head to the side, confused.

"Beyond the fact that, if I am what they say I am, that would kill you—I'm not ready for anything like that, Envy. I'm sorry."

He sighed and rebuttoned the two he'd managed to get undone before her rejection. His violet eyes met her blue. "Are you a virgin? If you weren't, you wouldn't be so uncertain about the _killing me_ part"

Her face turned bright red. "I don't have to answer that question."

"So, that's a yes?" He smirked, and kissed her lips again.

* * *

"Envy, what are you doing?" Lust stood in his doorway.

"Reading." He didn't pull his face from the book.

"No," Lust sighed. "I mean, what are you doing with _Emilee_?"

Envy shrugged. His eyes remained focused on the page.

"I thought you hated her?" She smirked.

Envy finally set the book down. "I hated her when I thought she was human."

"Well that's superficial."

"Maybe. Who cares?"

"Emilee?"

He picked his book back up. "She knows. She doesn't care."

"Is this just sexual? I've never seen you care about anyone before."

He laughed. "She didn't want to have sex so I'd be in deep shit if that were true."

Lust approached him. "You know what they say about fraternizing in the workplace." She rubbed his head, messing up his hair.

"Hey, watch what you're doing." He pulled his head away from and turned it to glare at her.

"Why do you even care so much?"

"It's not that I care. It's because I don't care."

* * *

Emilee woke up, a few days later, and glanced at her wall. Her eyes widened when she realized she hadn't added a new scratch to it in two days. She covered her face with her hands. "What's happening to me?"

"Me." Envy laughed.

Emilee jerked over and saw him sitting in his spot. She pulled her sheets up to cover herself, hardly dressed. "What the fuck are you doing in here?"

He shrugged. "Watching you sleep." He winked.

Emilee's mouth dropped and she threw her pillow at him. "Get out of here."

He caught it and laughed. "You really need to get better at throwing things."

"I am amazing it throwing things. You are just abnormally good at catching." She crossed her arms.

"Wanna work on your alchemy?" He tossed the pillow back to her.

She returned the pillow to its designated place at the head of the bed and sat up, still covering herself with the sheets. "I guess. Let me get dressed first."

"Okay."

There was a pause as Emilee watched him. He staring at her, retaining his position.

"I meant get out of here so I can get dressed," she growled.

He rolled his eyes and left the room.

* * *

Emilee blew up fifteen books in a row, each shortly after closing her eyes.

"Nice job, Emilee. But try waiting a bit longer now." He placed another book on the ground.

Emilee closed her eyes, paused a moment, and heard a pop. She opened her eyes with joy, but her face dimmed to a frown. She had only destroyed one corner of the book.

"Why do you look so upset? You managed to deconstruct it."

"Yeah, but just one corner."

"Practice makes perfect," he sang.

After a few more tries she managed to get half of the book. Another after that and she managed to get almost all of it. She ran and hugged Envy who reluctantly hugged her back.

"I'm getting better!" She spun around but then stopped and grabbed her head with a wince.

"You okay?" He examined her.

"Yeah," she laughed and shook her head. "Just a headache."

He rubbed her head. "That's a sign that we should stop. I don't want you killing yourself from overuse."

Emilee frowned. "Am I so much weaker than my mom, that I can only do this much before I reach my limit? I guess she was always stronger than me."

He brushed hair out of her face. "Maybe it's because she absorbed a lot of souls first. If you're a virgin, you've only absorbed one soul, that of your father, and maybe some from your mother's reservoir."

Emilee leaped away from him. "Fuck that. I'm not going to go whore myself out and I'm definitely not going to kill anyone."

He laughed and walked to her, patting her gently on the head. "I don't mean go out and have sex with a bunch of disgusting humans."

Her cheeks flushed. "I'd end up killing you and—I don't want to yet."

He grinned. "I have a lot of souls. I can spare one or two."

Her eyes widened. "Lots of souls?"

He nodded. "I didn't get them your way, however."

"But what if I absorb more than one or two? What if I take them all and kill you?"

He smirked. "Guess we'll just have to figure that out." He picked her up bridal style and started to carry her out but she shoved him away.

"I already told you that I'm not ready yet."

He sighed and set her down. "What are you waiting on?"

"I'm not going to just give myself away like that. Are we even in a relationship yet? I don't even know what we are." She was staring down.

He watched her curiously. "Are you still holding onto those odd human ideals?"

She glanced up at him before letting her gaze roll back to the floor.

"Don't let those zealous standards of 'waiting before you give yourself away' that humans vomit out, stop you from enjoying yourself."

"No one else has made me feel this way. I just don't want to have sex with anyone until I feel like they aren't gonna ditch me afterwards."

"Emilee, if I were to ditch you afterwards." He put his hands on his waist and leaned down to her. "Where exactly would I go?"


	7. Chapter 7

**7th chapter is now out :D**

 **This story has just begun, this chapter and the ones following it will be increasingly more mature in content. (You have been warned)**

 **Follow the story to get notifications when the next chapters come out!**

 **As always: Read, Enjoy, and Review :)**

 **P.S. Shiloh, I knew you'd be reading this chapter so, enjoy the scenes I had to pretend you wouldn't be reading to write.**

* * *

"Emilee." Envy said. He was sitting in his usual spot, head tilted back against the rock wall with eyes closed.

"Hmm?" Emilee looked up from her book.

"Wanna go outside?"

There was a soft thump as the book hit the bed. Emilee's face was frozen. Her hands remained positioned as if they grasped an invisible book. Her eyes were blank. She opened her mouth a bit but, not a single word escaped her lips.

He cocked his head to the side, as if the reaction was unexpected.

"I—I—I—I—I." She couldn't even get past the first word of a sentence, sounding like a toy that had been broken. Envy began laughing hysterically while Emilee fumbled over even formulating a sentence.

"Is that a yes?" He stood, amidst his laughing fit and began walking to the door.

Emilee rose from the bed, slipped on sandals, and followed him. Shaky steps, feeling as if taking a stroll through a dream.

He led her to the main room, through a door, and through the maze. He didn't seemed concerned with covering her eyes or any other method of preventing her from gaining knowledge of the route.

Emilee was silent through the trip.

He opened a large door and an aroma of trees and grass satisfied her nose. Emilee raised her hands to block out the sun. It burned her eyes after such a long period inside a building which lacked bright lighting.

Envy took a seat, cross-legged on the ground. He leaned back on his hands and aimed his face towards the sky.

She walked out of the doors and fell to her knees on the ground beside Envy. She let her hands wander across the grass and she fought back tears at the long-deprived sensation of the soft leaves.

Emilee stayed in this position for a long time before switching from kneeling to sitting on the soft dirt. She'd awaited this moment for so long. She had, long before, planned an escape if given this opportunity to be outside. But, she no longer had any desire to flee.

She leaned backwards, shifting until her spine was on the ground. The clouds were so beautiful. She could see the shapes of a dog and a bird's beak, a farmer and a dragon, a heart and a turtle.

Emilee abruptly sat up and enveloped Envy within her arms. At first, he hesitated but then placed his arms back around her. "Thank you," she breathed into his black top.

He turned his body and captured her lips in a kiss, before pushing her onto the ground, as she had been laying moments before. The two lay in the grass for a few minutes. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and their tongues entangled.

He pulled back for a few moments and stared at her face. "We can do your alchemy training out here if you want."

Emilee nodded. "Envy—Are you sure you wouldn't die if we did anything?"

He shrugged. "Probably not. You know I can heal instantly, I don't think I can easily die."

"I don't want to lose you, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you to something I did." She frowned.

He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back and he bit her lip hard, drawing blood. She withdrew and turned her head to the side, tasting metallic.

He sighed. "If you can't handle that, I don't think you're ready."

"Weren't you the one pushing for this? Why can't you just be gentle?"

He smirked as he sat up. "That's not enough for me."

She laid still. "I don't want to be covered in scars. I can't just heal myself like you. It's bad enough I have this one." She gestured to the one on her arm.

"Scars fade." He teased.

"I also don't want to feel pain."

"But that's the best part!"

"For you, maybe."

"Trust me, pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin. It feels good to mix them."

She didn't answer and they remained in silence.

Envy leaned in close to her ear. "I can't do anything with you if you can't satisfy my tastes."

"Then, I don't think this will work."

Envy groaned. Why did she have to make this so difficult? "What if I don't leave scars anywhere you can't cover up?"

Blue eyes met violet. "Where would that be?"

"Your stomach, chest, back, shoulders."

The girl looked deep in thought.

Had this proposition been offered to her when she'd first been brought to this place, she would've fled from the green-haired man in front of her. But, something within her had changed. She didn't feel how she used to.

Emilee glanced at the sky, considering how awful it would be to be marked by Envy. Was it awful?

From her first moments with him, he'd shown himself to love distributing pain. His forceful cruelty before and now actually asking her permission. It was a weird transformation.

"Not my face, or my arms, or my legs, or neck. Not my chest." Emilee cringed at the thought of her breasts being covered in scars. Everything seemed unfavorable, but that was particularly inauspicious. "Okay?" As the words left her lips she watched an eerie smile rise across his face.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

* * *

They were in Envy's room.

He tugged her shirt off. She raised her hands to assist. His arms wrapped around her as he unclasped her bra straps. She nervously tried to cover her chest but he pushed her hands aside. He captured her lips and placed his hands on her now free breasts. They weren't huge, but large enough to fill his hands.

She started trying to lift his shirt off but he shook his head and winked. It was easy for him to transform in and out of clothes, and he could be free of them in a matter of seconds. He loved how her eyes widened when his top had vanished.

He bit her neck and she took in a sharp breath. He bit harder and when his teeth broke the skin she whimpered. He licked the blood gently with the tip of his tongue, kissed up her neck and touched his lips to hers before kissing down her chest.

He unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them off. Her face was flushed bright red and he grinned. This was fun.

"You know." He leaned in close to her ear as his own shorts vanished. "After this you are mine. I don't want anyone else to have you."

"That seems possessive." Her eyes slanted.

Envy began laughing breathlessly. That was not the response he was expecting. This girl was certainly interesting.

Her face softened and she giggled a bit. He kissed her again, quieting her laugh.

When he entered her, it took all his effort to be gentle. Even so, her eyes widened and she grimaced. She grasped the bed sheets tightly within her hands.

He tried his best to go slow until she was used to it. But god, it was difficult. Eventually her expression eased and she began to moan softly.

He went faster and she gasped, now, not from pain, but from pleasure. Her sounds fueled him and he turned his finger to a blade and brushed it gently across her stomach. She noticed but didn't seem concerned, which pleased him, but wasn't as satisfying as fear. But he knew, with a devious grin, she would look more frightened when he broke her skin.

His lips met hers and then he kissed her stomach. He gently sliced the skin there, not too deeply, but drawing a line of blood wherever the blade touched. This wouldn't scar.

Her eyes watered and she seemed afraid at first. But, as expected, she realized how pleasurable the addition of pain was. She grew increasingly louder. Part of him was concerned that Lust or the others might hear, but the remaining piece of his being wanted them to.

He decided against cutting her too much this first time. He didn't want her to reject another _session_ , so her resisted the temptation.

Rubbing her clitoris easily produced her orgasm. He did it again, this time pushing her leg back so her could kiss her while simultaneously stimulating her.

When he finished, he felt a weird sensation. Along with his cum (which he had already explained was incapable of impregnating her), something left him. It was so harsh it felt like the wind was knocked out of him. And he saw her eyes turn an incandescent purple, glowing brightly within the dim room. She grabbed her head.

At first, he thought she was hurt but, as the luminosity dwindled, she smiled. She dropped her hands outstretched on either side.

"That was intense," she said softly.

"It was." Envy smirked.

As he had expected, she had taken only one of his souls. It appeared the system was only designed to take a single at a time. That was all that was necessary to destroy an average person. But for Envy, this was simply another interesting trait in this odd girl. He didn't mind giving a soul to her, one soul was hardly a concern for him. It was interesting to see it happen, he was certain he was the only one who ever had. Any other person would've died at their climax something, many would consider ,a good way to die.

He chuckled a bit as he pulled out and his clothes rematerialized. Emilee had to redress manually, and she seemed quite awkward in the action.

She paused to wipe the blood from her stomach. "You know, that wasn't as bad as I was expecting."

Envy shrugged. "I went easy on you for your first time. It's difficult being a virgin."

She glared at him as she finished dressing. Pulling her top over her head let a few seconds lapse before her scowl was once again visible.

* * *

Lust stared at Emilee's shoulder wound and her lips produced a sly grin. She made eye contact with envy and winked, his eyes darted away but he beamed at the accomplishment.

"So, you went outside the other day, Emilee?"

Emilee nodded, a huge smile dominating her own face. "Envy said I can practice my alchemy out there now!"

Lust was delighted by the girl's apparent contentment with her situation. If she had no desire to escape, she was one of them. She might even be able to help them in their plans, her alchemy being a significant weapon at their disposal.

"I think we should change your name." Sloth said.

"Why?" Emilee's smile faded. "What's wrong with my name?"

"It's a human name and will be identifiable by others," Lust said. Your name is in the records and, if you don't want to be concerned with the humans' efforts to imprison or restrict you, you don't want to use that name."

Wrath grinned. "I have an idea for one!"

Lust nodded and spoke as if a teacher. "Yes, Wrath. What is your idea?"

"Vetta."

Emilee cringed. The name sounded like that of some really insane, muscular woman.

"Aww, sorry Wrath. Emilee doesn't like it."

Wrath pouted and Envy snickered.

"Alright, Envy. Let's hear one."

Envy's eyes opened, it being obvious he was not prepared. He put a his hand on his chin and gazed off into the ceiling, like a great philosopher deep in an introspective experience.

He suddenly sat up straight. "Got it." He turned to Emilee and pointed his index finger. "How about, Mara? We can even call you "Mar for short."

Emilee leaned back on the couch and tilted her head back and forth. She smiled. "I actually like that."

Cheers filled the room.

Envy clapped his hands. "Welcome to the team, Mara."

* * *

Emil—Mara sat in her room. Something felt different and it wasn't the name. It was her brain. She felt more alert and as if she'd read ungodly amounts of books. It must've been the soul she'd stolen from Envy. She was surprised that the green haired man hadn't died, but he didn't seem shocked at all. However, she'd definitely taken something from him and it felt good as he'd taken her virginity from her. Equivalent exchange, right?

She wasn't sure about the name change, but it did feel kind of right. Mara was far cooler and fiercer than Emilee. She'd never really had an issue with her old name before, but she'd never even entertained the possibility of a new one. Now her old name seemed distant and unnecessary. It was obsolete. She felt like a new person and a new name was exactly what she needed.

She walked to the mirror and gazed at her reflection. "Mara." She let the name roll across her tongue, testing it out. "Hi, my name is Mara." She smiled as if her reflection was a stranger she was greeting. It definitely felt right.

* * *

"You up?" Envy knocked on the door.

He heard footsteps and the door opened. Emilee—Mara stared at him with a puzzled expression. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to test out whatever you gained from my soul." He leaned in close with a smug look, still proud of the conquest two days later.

Mara nodded. "Yeah, hold on I'll get dressed."

She tore off the huge shirt she wore to bed and replaced it with a soft blue sweater and white shorts. Clothing that she was grateful Lust had bought on her request. Mara stopped once in the bathroom to fix her hair in the mirror, quickly brushing out the tangles that had formed during her sleep.

Mara loved the scent of the world as it enveloped her senses. The air was crisp and brushed smoothly across her skin, feeling like a caress. She went barefoot, which is how she often went now, and the grass felt tantalizing and soft on her bare soles.

"You ready?" Envy placed a book on the ground.

Mara nodded. She closed her eyes, hesitated, and the book exploded. The sheer force sent a gust of wind that she could feel across her face. She didn't need to open her eyes to know it was perfectly completed.

Envy applauded her. She smiled and strolled to his figure, relaxed against a tree. She high-fived him, something he, for once, readily engaged with.

"There's a difference. I'm surprised how much of an effect one soul can have."

"I'm shocked my mother and grandmother didn't figure out they could do it with their eyes closed."

Envy shrugged. "It's possible they did and we're saving that lesson for later. It's hard to say when neither of the people are available to ask questions. I mean, they managed to hide the fact that they were occasionally sucking out the souls of men. Who knows what else they hid up their sleeves."

"Put another book down. I want to try waiting longer."

Envy complied with a devious grin on his face. "How about you do it with your back turned now."

Mara starerd at the book, turned around, and closed her eyes. She waited several seconds and then deconstructed the book. It exploded perfectly like the others.

Mara opened her eyes slowly. She'd never felt so powerful before.

They determined that Mara could manage a max of 10 seconds after her eyes were closed, fewer if she'd only had a glance at the object. As long as she knew the location, she could do it with her back turned or around a corner from a good distance away.

Her limit, however, left her with only a max of 63 transmutations per 30 minutes. After that the headaches would punch her temple, leaving her clutching her head in pain.

The other homunculi, like Envy, were impressed. Envy marveled at the difference a single soul had made in her abilities. Her personality had seemed to become more powerful as well.

* * *

"I updated Father on Mara and I have never seen him so pleased with a circumstance." Lust leaned back on the couch with a smile. "She could easily help Father and us as we near the promised day."

Sloth nodded. "Imagine how much more and how much faster her abilities will allow us to accomplish our necessary steps."

Lust watched Envy as he reclined on the couch with his arms crossed. "You know, Envy. It wouldn't hurt to give her a few more souls." She winked.

Envy smirked. "Couldn't hurt."

* * *

Envy flipped Mara onto her stomach and she seemed unsure of what to do. But he admitted that there was no work necessary on her part when he placed a hand on the back of her neck and pushed it into the bed.

He entered her, this time, more forcefully and she let out a gasp. As he picked up speed she bit onto the sheets, muffling her noises. Envy wished they were somewhere that she didn't need to be quiet.

Envy's finger became a blade and he gently traced her neck and shoulders before trailing down her spine. He smirked as goosebumps appeared.

On his next thrust he tore through the skin and she yelped through the sheets.

Envy leaned down and tasted her blood on his tongue. He hadn't gone too deep into the skin, but significantly further than the mere scratches he'd inflicted on her stomach during their previous engagement.

He could hear the moaning return, even though it was muffled by the sheets. He was unable to resist a grin as he began to rub her, in time. She orgasmed several times before he finished.

As before, he felt the shudder go through his system as one of his souls was ripped from his body. He could see the reflection of that bright violet glow against the white pillow.

Envy pulled out and she rolled over, disregarding the lines of blood from her back she was streaking across the sheets.

He leaned down to kiss her and gently nibbled on her neck. "You want to try killing someone?" He leaned his head to the side, letting his long green hair brushing against her skin.

Her eyes only widened slightly. She wasn't nearly as concerned as he had anticipated. She looked deep in thought. "Why?" She asked.

"Why not?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey ya'll. Thanks for enjoying the story so far :)**

 **For those of you who didn't quite get why her name was changed partway through this story (last chapter), this chapter might help.**

 **For this chapter and the following ones, I will be taking my time with the dialogue.**

 **I don't like to steal lines from episodes as I'm not just writing another character into an already written script. This is an entire story built in between the episodes already out.**

 **Read, review and enjoy :) Follow to receive updates when new chapters are released.**

 **P.S. Shilo, thanks for the pre-post review 3**

* * *

Mara stared out at the town before her. Although small, it was clearly not impoverished. Respectable houses of various colors dotted the sides of streets. The center of the town contained tidy shops and outlets that would likely satisfy any person not content to be a homebody.

Envy had taken her a great distance but she wasn't sure why he had picked this particular location. It seemed like a random choice but, for all Mara knew, it could've been a very strategic selection.

They walked through the empty roads, the street lights and moon being the only illumination. Despite an apparent lack of life outside, when they entered a bar, Mara was surprised to discover a multitude of customers downing drinks with cheer.

She turned to Envy and was shocked to see a young blonde woman standing in his place. It took her a few moments to register that she was, in fact, still looking at Envy and not some pretty stranger. "Envy?"

"Mara, I'm Kira. Don't tell me you forgot my name already?" The girl gushed. She gave Mara a look screaming _are you serious_.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Mara mumbled under her breath. She wondered when Envy's morphing ability would cease to shock her.

They took a seat together at a bar and it wasn't long before two men approached them. The scent of liquor and cigarettes hung on their breath as they got uncomfortably close to the pair. Mara cringed when one placed his hand on her thigh and she began questioning her investment in their endeavor.

Envy was very charismatic, however. He smoothly spoke to the gentlemen with a soft, bubbly voice. Mara guiltily wondered if Envy was prettier than her in this form.

After several drinks and a lot of random chatter, Envy and Mara stood. They moved outside with the company of the two men, Envy claiming that they wanted someone to walk them to their inn. One of the men struck up a conversation with Mara as they walked. She smiled and attempted to reciprocate the interest resonating in the man's voice.

The man speaking to Envy was lean and blond with brown eyes and a square face. The one speaking to Mara, whose name she discovered to be Jacke, was a bit taller than Envy with dark brown hair and green eyes.

As soon as they rounded a corner Envy turned around and sliced the neck of the man chatting with (her?) using a finger-blade. The man had been mid-word and his eyes widened, pupils dilating to become saucers. Blood began spurting from his jugular and some trickled out of his mouth.

Jacke turned and stared for a few moments, the sight so unexpected he just couldn't respond. His mouth opened, "Alec?"

Reality seemed to set in as Jacke watched his friend slide down to the floor. Alec was clutching his neck, futilely attempting to stop the blood spurting from the wound. Jacke took off running.

"Mara, the fuck are you doing?" Envy had resumed his normal form.

Mara's mind became once more functional and she glanced at the receding figure ahead of her. The ground pushed up beneath his feet, knocking him to the ground. He scrambled to get to his feet again but Mara was rushing after him. She encircled his legs with rock, locking him to the ground.

He flailed as Mara approached him, Envy close behind.

She reached out to the wall, brushing her hand on a metal slate as they passed it. With a violet light, she slowly withdrew a sharp knife from the metal surface. She approached the man. His skin had turned white and he was clawing at the rocks encasing his legs.

Mara froze as she got close. She was standing over Jacke, blade positioned in hand, but she couldn't move. Her hand began to shake. "Envy, I—I don't think I can do this." It fell to her side.

"What do you mean, you _don't think you can do this_. Mara, fucking finish him off."

Mara gritted her teeth as she began to feel flashes of memory—from the time when she was Emilee. That girl was always helping people, so nice, how could she ever come so low as to kill someone.

But then, that moment flickered past. She thought of all the times people around her old town had been useless or taken advantage of her. Emilee had always helped them, but she couldn't remember a single time that anyone had come to visit her. No one had ever offered her help of any kind. No one seemed to care for that poor little orphaned girl. And why?

Mara felt her eyes wet. That girl, Emilee was a push-over. She helped everyone else despite the favor never being returned. She tried to follow in her mother's lead, but she didn't even know the woman she had called mother. Her mother and grandfather killed numerous people, leaching off their lives to increase their own strength and power. Emilee was weak.

But Mara wasn't.

Mara took the knife, leaned in close to Jacke.

He tried to edge further away but was impeded by his restricted legs, buried in the rock. "Please," he begged. "Don't do this."

Mara stared deep into his green eyes but said nothing as she kneeled closer. Her hand pulled the blade out in preparation for the strike.

"I'll give you anything you want. Please don't do this. I have 3000 cenz, it's all yours. I have a family. I can gi—." His mouth dripped blood as Mara swiped the blade across his neck.

She hadn't cut the jugular as neatly as Envy but she'd gone deeper. Blood poured out at an easy pace. The flow getting faster and slower with each of the man's heartbeats. She could make out the silvery trachea shining, partially severed, through the wound. He watched her slowly withdraw, bloodied knife in hand. She could hear a gurgle escape his lips when he tried to speak.

Envy laughed and clapped his hands. He flipped her around fiercely pressed his lips to hers.

Mara closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting their tongues entwine over the sound of the man behind them sputtering blood and clutching the wound in vain.

* * *

"Why do you always have to get in trouble?" Lust eyed Envy as he entered the main room.

Envy laughed and shrugged, taking a seat on the couch.

"And now you're even getting Mara involved in your misadventures." Lust crossed her arms.

Envy rolled his eyes. "I thought you'd be happy I determined that Mara is willing to kill humans."

"True," Lust nodded. "But who knows how much attention you've drawn."

* * *

"Why'd you call us in here?" Ed asked, stretching and rubbing the back of his head with his flesh hand.

Colonel Mustang looked at the two boys over his folded hands. "Two men were murdered last night in a small town."

Ed and Al glanced at each other.

"That doesn't explain why you've called us in here," Ed stated flatly. "There are many other people who can handle that kind of situation." He crossed his arms. "What's the real reason you called us in here?"

Mustang smirked. "Perceptive as usual." His face became sterner. "The two men were last seen leaving a bar with two women who were not residents of the town. One of them perfectly matches the description of the one you gave me for that girl from Lorne, Emilee."

Ed's eyes widened and Al took a step back. "What?"

Mustang pushed several papers across his desk to face the boys. "I figured you'd like to handle the case, given your responsibility in her disappearance."

Ed and Al nodded. Ed picked up the papers and he swiftly left the room with brother close behind. They walked to a park a short distance from Central and took a seat on a bench.

"Do you think it's really her?" Al asked softly.

"I don't know," Ed said as his eyes darted across the pages. "I don't know why she'd end up with some strange blond woman or why she'd become a murderer."

"But the description matches hers."

Ed sighed. "Yeah but there can be similar looking people in the world. Besides, everyone at the bar seemed confident that both women's names ended with an 'a'. That doesn't fit her."

"But she could've just used a fake name in front of the people there." Al whispered.

Ed nodded. "That's true. They were all also drunk."

"So, what should we do, brother?"

* * *

Mara laid in Envy's bed—she'd snuck in the moment he'd left to the main room. She curled up and smelled his scent wafting off the pillows and sheets. She closed her eyes and pulled them closer.

Was this all a dream? A large family, a home filled with it, someone she could love—things she'd deeply desired since even before the death of her mother. She felt so happy she wanted to cry and she buried her face in Envy's pillow. She didn't understand how she could have ever wanted to leave this castle.

The door creaked as it was pushed open. Mara's eyes flickered open and she lifted her head up to see Envy standing in the doorway, a silhouette.

He cocked his head to the side. "What are you doing in here?"

Mara sat up and shrugged. "You come in my room all the time unannounced. Thought I'd return the favor."

Envy smirked and meandered to the bed. "Can't say I disapprove."

He sat on the bed and pressed his lips to hers. Her hands snaked up behind his head to entwine the green locks within her fingers. Their tongues danced as he pushed her back down on the bed.

* * *

Clothes were quickly lost and Envy bit harshly into her shoulder. Mara gasped a bit, feeling a single drop of blood rolling over her collarbone.

He flipped her over and penetrated her roughly. As soon he could see she was responding positively he began to slowly carve into her back with a blade.

Mara hissed as the blade sunk deeper into her skin, about the depth of the laceration that had once been carved into her arm. She shifted and tried to pull away but Envy held her in place with his other hand

"Stop," Mara cried into the sheets.

"I thought I prepared you well for this.

"It hurts."

Envy didn't respond as he continued to carve a letter into her back, loving the sensation of her tightening around him. Her distress was also itself a turn on.

The wound, being significantly deeper than the ones he'd created during their past sexual encounters, bled significantly more. Blood rolled off her back and dampened the sheets of the bed.

After the completion of the single letter, he leaned down and licked the blood trailing across her skin, sucking on the deep laceration for a few moments. Mara began to moan again, the pain ebbing into arousal.

She seemed to respond better when he carved the next letter, not apparently in the severe pain she'd experienced before. But once again, she tightened around him as the blade moved.

By the final letter, Mara's body had relaxed and she was moaning loudly

He lapped up the blood and bit her neck. His finger slipped onto her clit, eliciting a moan from Mara. He worked her area with precision, ultimately bringing her to completion at the same time as him. The usual shock pulsed through his body.

While Mara recovered he took a step back to admire his work. He smirked as his eyes drifted across the weeping "Envy" carved across her back.

* * *

Mara's lay in Envy's bed, her stomach pressed against the bloodied sheets. She tried not to move as the wounds on her back ached with every movement. Her breathing alone, something unavoidable, stretched the lacerations and prevented a comfortable rest.

She retained this position for the five-minute century it took Envy to return with first aid materials. By the time he returned, she was staring at the wall with strained eyes, counting the bumps or impurities in its surface.

Envy wiped the blood off her back and cleaned the extensive area with alcohol. Mara gritted her teeth through the agonizing burn as the alcohol encountered the open flesh. The harsh effect lasted for a while after he completed the cleanse.

Even with her back bandaged, she was unable to shift from her position for a day and struggled to move for a week after that point.

* * *

"What did you do to her?" Lust asked as she surveyed a very slow-moving Mara. The girl appeared to struggle with even taking a single step and clenched her teeth throughout every motion.

"I just marked her." Envy said triumphantly.

"What? Are you a dog now?" Lust grinned, her eyes remaining fixed on Mara.

Envy threw Lust a glare which was, frustratingly missed as Mara's struggled movements were, apparently, much more entertaining. "No. I just wanted to make sure everyone else knew exactly who had claimed her."

"So, you're a dog?" Lust laughed. Envy groaned in response.

* * *

Mara paused her painful walking attempt and turned towards the sounds of amusement. Lust and Envy's eyes quickly pointed to different directions. She sighed, they weren't particularly good at pretending that she wasn't the target of their laughter.

Her struggle around the house firmed her mind around the plan to never let Envy do that shit again. He hadn't told her what he had done but the movements had given her a pretty good suspicion that it was his name.

It wasn't something she was particularly happy to have scrawled across her back to begin with.

"What do you guys want?" She huffed to the pair who then ended their avid avoidance of gazing upon her crippled form.

"How are you feeling?" Lust asked sympathetically.

Mara scoffed. "How do you think I'm fucking feeling?" She glared at Envy. "Not peachy."

He reciprocated with a grin. "Your welcome."

"We're going to go take care of a situation," Lust said. "You should remain here and do you best to—um—recover."

Mara sighed. "I'll be in the library, drowning my agony in paper, if you decide you want my help."

"You mean if we want entertainment?" Envy chuckled.

"Shut up." Mara walked slowly to her unfairly far destination. "What idiot decided to build the library on the other fucking side of Amestris? They should go fuck themselves. I'll fucking carve a word in their back and let them toil at..." Her mumbling slowly faded out as she struggled out of the vicinity.

"She seems irritable when she's in pain," Lust said as if noting the observations of a research subject.

"Indeed." Envy nodded.

* * *

Envy and Lust rode in the train car just behind the one in which the Elric brothers resided. Lust held up a newspaper while Envy leaned back with his arms crossed.

"You know, you don't have to pretend to read a newspaper." Envy sighed. "It's not as if anyone is even paying attention to us."

"Did you know gold is down 3% in the stock market. Oh! And Old Mill Liquor just released a new type of vodka." Lust lowered the paper. "They're calling it the Annoying Palm Tree."

Envy snorted. "Aren't they the ones who made that Rum called Go Fuck Yourself?"

"The whiskey they produced last year," Lust whispered sensually. "Envy Dies on Train, was rated very highly by Lust Industries."

Envy began to laugh so hard he had trouble regaining his breath. Lust simply returned her eyes to the newspaper.

* * *

Ed stared out the window, cheek resting in hand, at the passing countryside. "Do you really think those girls—the one's who murdered those two men—do you think one of them is Emilee?"

Al looked down at his metal hands. "I don't know, brother."

Ed's eyes drifted to the suit of armor. "You sounded much more confident back at Central."

Al didn't answer for a few moments. "One of them matched the description, brother. Surely that means something."

Ed smiled and looked back out the window. It helped to have at least one of them remain optimistic and Ed usually had the other side covered.

A woman's voice spilled from the speakers. "We're now stopping in Mandarran." The train lurched as it stopped at the station. "Please don't forget your bags. Next stop, Arwan."

Ed and Al rose to their feet before shuffling down the aisle and out the door. Ed stretched out in the warmth of the sun. "Whether it is or isn't her." He lowered his arms. "Let's figure it out."

"Right," Al said cheerfully.

They began to walk down the path towards the bright town laying ahead of them. Ed focused his mind on the question at hand and developing a plan. As they traveled, they discussed a strategy for their investigation.

They were too focused to notice the dark figures trailing not far behind.

* * *

 **Ed: Woo! Finally back in the fic.**

 **Al: Does this mean we can be the main characters now?**

 **Ed: Yes! We'll call it 'Fullmetal Alchemist'**

 **Al: Brother, I think that will be copyright infringement.**

 **Ed: Shhhhh, hide. The US CO is coming.**

 **US CO: Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting cwiminals.**


	9. Chapter 9

**New chapter!**

 **I hope ya'll enjoy it :)**

 **As usual, lemme know what you think in the comments and follow/favorite the story to get updates when new chapters come out!**

 **P.S.**

 **Here's a short poem for my bff, in honor of her latest misadventure:**

 ** _Even though he may be such a piece of shit,_**

 ** _Even while you think he wouldn't go that far,_**

 _ **Even if he tries to park without paying,**_

 ** _Don't leap in front of his car._**

* * *

"Do you remember the two girls who were in the bar here?" Ed asked the bartender, a man with a gruff face and a scruffy beard.

He stared down at them through dark brown eyes and then made a deep-throated laugh. "There are a lot of women who go through this pub, sir. You're gonna have to be more specific about your girlfriends."

Ed's face flushed. "Who said anything about girlfriends? I'm—"

"Yeah, I see." The bartender nodded. "Didn't see you as much of a player. You're too short."

"Who are you calling a 'shorty pipsqeak so tiny he can't have girlfriends'?" Ed's hands grasped the edge of the bar and he got dangerously close to the man's face.

"Well… do you have a girlfriend?" The man snickered when Ed's face paled.

Al laughed. "He's got you there, brother."

"Shut up, Al." Ed shook his head to rid his body of the irritation. His eyes sharpened at the bartender. "I'm talking about the two girls who were last seen with the men who were murdered."

The bartender's face became more serious and several other patrons looked towards the conversation. "What's it to ya?"

"We're doing an investigation."

"An investigation," the man scratched his chin. "Aren't you a little short to be an investigator?"

Al grabbed his brother to keep him from attacking the man. He sighed, Ed looked like a volcano about to erupt, the bartender was really pushing it with two short jokes within 2 minutes of each other.

The bartender took an order from a patron who had just found a seat at the bar. This, luckily, gave Ed time to cool down.

"Well the girls were both very beautiful, nice on the eyes." The bartender had returned and was now cleaning some dirty beer mugs in a small sink.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Our report showed that their names were not known, but—"

"I know their names." The bartender said.

Ed stared at him, dumbfounded. "Why didn't you say anything when the initial report was made?"

"I don't know." The bartender sighed. "You'd think they'd question the bartender instead of the drunk bums on the stools." He leaned over close to the row of men extending past Ed. "No offense, fellas."

Several men grunted and looked amongst each other.

"How about a round of free drinks, Horrus. We'll call it even." One man shouted.

"Free drinks?" The bartender scoffed. "I'll give 'em half off. Free drinks and I'll be out of a job."

The men laughed and cheered over their success in haggling half-price drinks. The bartender filled their mugs and the men chugged their drinks in unison.

"Horrus, is it?" Al asked, once the bartender had once more entered their proximity.

"Hmm?" He returned his attention to the brothers. "Oh, yeah. The girls, right?"

"You said you knew their names." Al said.

Horrus nodded. "One was Kitty—no Kat—wait it was Kira."

"You don't remember?"

"No, it was Kira. The other girl was 'M' something 'a'." He looked deep in thought. "Monica—Maddy—wait that didn't end in an 'a'-sound. Mira?"

"If you don't know their names then just fucking say so!" Ed shouted.

"Brother," Al put a hand on his back. "He's just trying to help."

"Oh! I remember!" The bartender exclaimed and clapped his hands. "Kira and Mara."

"Are you sure neither of them was named Emilee?" Ed sighed, hardly confident in the man's memory.

The bartender shook his head. "Definitely no one named Emilee been through these parts."

"So, which one was the brunette? Did she look like this?" Ed pulled a photo of Emilee that had been found in her home from his pocket

"Mara was a brunette and Kira was a blonde—Yes that was her. Gorgeous girls. Very attractive. I'd have taken them home myself had I not been working. Quite pretty. I mean, these girls were the cream of the crop. If—"

"We get it already, you perv." Ed stammered. "But, for fucks sake, they killed two men."

The man nodded. "The girls disappeared afterwards. I think they might have been kidnapped." He leaned in close to Ed's face. "You know how they do it, right? Kill the men and take the girls."

"Seems more likely the women were the killers themselves." Ed slammed his hand on the table.

The bartender shrugged. "Whatever you say, _Mr. Investigator_."

"Maybe the girls were just kidnapped, brother." Al said calmly. "That would mean Emilee isn't murdering people."

Ed shook his head. "Why would Emilee call herself Mara if they weren't up to anything nefarious?"

"Yeah, I guess." Al trailed off. "What if Emilee has an identical twin named Mara."

Unlikely." Ed scoffed. He stopped and turned to his brother. "Whether Mara is Emilee—It doesn't change the fact that we have two people murdered. We need to find the girls, figure out who killed the men, and get this situation under control."

* * *

"Told you." Envy playfully punched Lust.

"Told me that your antics were drawing attention?" Lust cast a glare at his annoyingly pleased face. "Oh wait, that was me who said that."

Envy groaned. "I mean—it isn't like they're getting anywhere with it."

"They've figured out that Mara might be what has taken the place of Emilee."

"So? They have no other information."

Lust rested her face in hand and looked thoughtful. "We need to throw their work off course."

"Lust." Envy grinned as she turned to look at him. "I have a plan to derail our little investigators."

* * *

Mara woke up in Envy's bed. He'd been gone for two days and she missed him. Her melancholy wasn't quenched by the knowledge that he'd return later that day so, she drowned her loneliness in the scents of his bed and clothes.

She'd begun sleeping on her stomach, a strange alternative to her normal resting patterns. Her back was still healing and any attempt to press it to a surface sent streaks of pain through her body. The pain compacted the loneliness, reminding her of the person who was nowhere near her.

"Mara, you in here?" A child's voice jolted through the room as the door opened.

"Wrath?" Mara lifted her head off the pillow and saw black hair resting on top of violet eyes. "What do you want?"

He bobbed around the bed and stared at her. "I don't know."

"You know Envy doesn't like you in his room," Mara sighed.

"But you're in here." He crossed his arms and sat down on the floor in front of the bed in defiance.

"That's different. You need to leave." Mara pulled her torso up and leaned out to push him towards the door.

Wrath watched as her hand approached. When inches from him, he scooted back a few feet. Mara's hand fell, her palm hitting the wood frame with a gentle thump.

She dropped her face to the pillow and groaned. She wasn't in the physical condition to defend Envy's interests against Wrath's childish opposition. He was in a perpetual state of rebellion and Mara wondered when that phase would finally cease.

"Wharrs Slohhh?"

"What?" Wrath cocked his head to the side.

Mara lifted her head up. "Where's Sloth?"

"Oh." Wrath giggled. "She's talking to Father about something."

There was a brief period of silence, throughout which, Wrath rolled back and forth on the ground.

"Wrath?"

"Yeah?" He scooted closer to her.

"Does Father actually exist?"

Wrath nodded and eyed her like that was the most bizarre question he'd ever heard.

"Is he a priest or something?"

Wrath shook his head. "He likes to be called Father in our family. He made us from himself, so he is like a Father to us in that way as well."

"Have you ever met Father?"

"Plenty of times, why?" He leaned back and forth like a pendulum.

Mara set her cheek on the pillow and stared at him.

"Why?" Wrath looked her over as if concerned she might have died. "Mara, why?"

"Because," Mara stared deep into his violet eyes with absolute confusion. "I've never met him."

It was odd. She'd been here 8 months and hadn't seen the man they called Father once. With surprisingly great dejection, she began to question whether she really was a part of the family here.

* * *

"I must say, Envy. You do Mara justice." Lust looked up and down the figure before her.

"Thank you." Envy-Mara smiled and spun around. "Did Father tell you where the brothers were headed next?"

Lust nodded and stared down at the streets of the small town where, somewhere, the brothers were still poking their heads around. "They're stopping a few train stops down. Someone in a town there claimed to have spotted _the killers_." She rolled her eyes.

"But Mara and I were never there." Envy laughed.

"Some lonely fool wanted to take advantage of the hype to garner a bit of attention for himself." Lust sighed. "Humans are so pathetic."

"At least we can use that to our advantage." Envy pranced around in Mara's dainty form. "That lucky bastard is going to actually get some validation of his silly lie."

Lust smirked. "If you really want to call that lucky."

* * *

Ed stuck his hands in his pockets and stared up at the open sky as they walked back to the train station. "The people in this town were not as helpful as I thought."

"Horrus was pretty useful, brother." Alphonse said softly. "He gave us their names and confirmed that Mara looked like Emilee."

"Yeah, I guess." Ed kicked a rock, sending it tumbling ahead of them. Its momentum wore out quickly, leaving it rolling to a slow stop by the time they passed it.

"And they were spotted a few towns down as well," Alphonse cheered. "That gives us a clear path."

Ed shook his head. "I'm not sure about this report. Why would they stay in populated areas after killing two people? I doubt they're that stupid. Either the man is lying or the girls did that intentionally to send us off in the wrong direction."

Alphonse sighed. "Brother, I'm trying to be optimistic. Do you really have to be so negative all the time?"

"It's not called being negative." Ed clenched his teeth. "It's called being realistic."

* * *

The brothers stepped onto the pavement at the next step, facing a town that was almost identical to the previous. That wasn't particularly surprising—all the small towns out in this part of Amestris looked the same.

They ambled through the streets, finding directions and inspecting street signs until they managed to locate the house of the supposed witness. A few knocks were all it took for a set of heavy footsteps to tread towards the door.

"Can I help you?"A middle-aged man peered down at them through thick-framed glasses. He was still in a bathrobe, despite it being almost 4pm.

"Are you Alec Norton?" Ed eyed the man. It was hard to anticipate his propensity to provide false information, but the bathrobe didn't look particularly candid.

The man nodded. "Are you the Elric brothers? I heard you'd be coming."

"We'd like to ask you a few questions."

The man momentarily looked nervous but so rapidly disposed of that expression that Ed wondered if it had been his imagination. "Come in."

"Sorry for the mess," he said as the brothers walked past him.

"It's alright," Al said awkwardly. The place was old and funky and smelled of mold and lavender—a weird combination.

Ed looked back when he realized the man was not following them into his dank dwelling, but still standing at the door. He was posed as if he had been about to shut it, but failed to finish the motion. Ed started walking back to the front, beginning to feel uneasy about the whole situation.

The man was in a state of trepidation. One hand gripping the door handle and the other squeezing the frame. "Don't," he said. "Please don't."

Ed froze, confused. Was the man talking to him? "Are you ok—"

"If only you hadn't seen us that night." Emilee's voice came calm and steady.

Ed's eyes widened and he moved towards the entrance. Before he could place a second step, blood splattered across his face as a bullet pierced through the man's chest. It narrowly messed Ed by inches.

As the man fell, Ed caught a glimpse of Emilee before she vanished out of view. He scrambled around the body, unable to provide any attention for the dead man in his panic. "Emilee, wait!"

People were coming outside in response to the sound of gunfire, several looking at Ed in confusion as he panted down the street. Emilee disappeared far too quickly into the growing crowd and Ed slumped to the ground in defeat. He wanted to punch every curious villager for their stupidity in leaving the safety of the residences and venues to carelessly block his view.

"God dammit," he screamed. He slammed his fist onto the concrete over and over, abrading the skin on the knuckles of his left hand. "Fuck. Fuck. FUCK."

* * *

Envy returned to Lust, giddy with the success of his deed. He found her on the 3rd floor of a stone establishment. The building was abandoned on this floor, but must have once housed a small shoe-making business. Several heavy, wooden tables had been placed around the room, each covered in compasses, hammers, and various other tools. Sheets of leather and rubber hung on the wall and everything was covered in a thin layer of dust.

"Problem solved," he cheered as he sauntered to her silhouetted form by a small window.

"Maybe." Lust glanced at the expanse of town within their view.

Townsfolk had collected around Alec's house, his body long dragged away. A doctor wasn't needed to know the gunshot was fatal, killing the man instantly. Alec's destination was not a hospital with hopeful doctors—he was headed to a morgue with busy morticians.

"Maybe? Only maybe?" Envy muttered in dissatisfaction.

Lust shrugged and pulled her gaze from the unusually busy streets. "This certainly confused their progress—I'm not sure what they'll think of this—but I've started to consider something."

"Hmm?" Envy cocked his head to the side, green locks shimmering in the fluorescent lighting.

A sly grin overtook Lust's face. "Why are we hiding her from the world?"

" _Hiding_ isn't the word I'd use in this case." Envy snorted. "We're not smuggling or sheltering her. She's more of a hostage or captive."

"Is she really?" Lust smirked. "From the relations you two have been having, I thought she was your girlfriend."

Envy's face flushed and he looked back down at the streets to avoid meeting Lust's eyes as she simpered. "I don't know if—Well she is kinda." He shut his mouth a few moments to regain his composure. "What's your point?"

Lust rolled her eyes as if his question was imbecilic. "Why don't we have her join us on our next outing."

Envy snickered and looked at Lust unapologetically. "Should've thought of that before I carved my name into her back a few days ago."

Lust sighed and walked past Envy towards the door. "It's a shame human don't heal quickly."

* * *

Envy barged into Mara's room, providing only a light knock before swinging the door open. "Mara, I wanted to ask you something."

His eyes fell upon an empty bed. They explored the remainder of the room before he fully realized she wasn't there. With a sigh he walked to his room.

He threw the door open without any knock of warning. "Mara." He looked around the room and saw she wasn't there.

She wasn't in the library either.

Envy returned to the main room and saw Sloth reclining on the couch. Lust was just sitting down next to Gluttony, whose eyes sparkled with delight with her return.

"Sloth," he said carefully. it took all his willpower to keep his voice from betraying apprehension.

She looked up at him with an impassive expression. Lust also looked over but her eyes widened in concern—somehow always able to read Envy like he was a page out of a children's book.

"Do you know where Mara is?" He gritted his teeth.

Lust's eyes narrowed and she stood up, ignoring Gluttony's pitiful protest.

Sloth's face remained blank. "No."

Envy's eyes flared. "That fucking bitch."

"I knew you shouldn't have shown her the way out," Lust chided.

"Oh, shut up." Envy roared. He stormed towards the door that prefaced the path to the exit, fists clenched and ready to hunt her down. "Ill fucking kill her."

"She didn't leave the place or run away," Sloth sighed.

Envy froze, his hand still grasping the doorknob. "What did you fucking say?" His head whipped around. "I thought you said you didn't know where she was."

Sloth looked at him lazily. "I don't know where she is, but I know where she's not."

Lust cocked an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Sloth shrugged. "She's with Wrath and they want through that door." She motioned to the one on the other side of the room which lead deeper into the hideout as opposed to outside it.

Envy's anger didn't subside at the realization of Mara's lack of betrayal. It strengthened and changed targets.

"What the fuck you lazy fucking fuck?" He screamed.

"You sure live up to your name, Sloth." Lust chuckled. "But I think you unstabilized Envy."

"You think this is fucking funny?" Envy stormed towards of the two of them.

Lust smirked. "Your reactions to anything Mara _are_ definitely amusing."

Envy saw red.

* * *

Mara followed Wrath through the winding tunnels until they came to a huge room. There was a large man with long blonde hair sitting in a concrete chair. Wires stretched around the chair and base like vines, spreading and winding across the floor like the roots of a mangrove tree. His hard eyes pierced her and she fought her instinct to withdraw from the room.

"Hello, Father," Wrath said quietly from the entrance as he bowed.

"Hello, Wrath." Father nodded, his eyes still fixed on Mara.

Wrath raised his head slowly. "I'm sorry to have intruded, Father. I brought Mara. She wished to meet you."

Mara had never seen the boy so humble and polite. It didn't seem out of fright either, but consequent of strong reverence. "Hello, sir." She tried to imitate Wrath with a bow of her own. "I've lived here for so long, I'm glad to finally meet you."

Father's face lightened a fraction. "I'm glad you wanted to meet me. Are you enjoying yourself here?"

"Yes, sir." She smiled brightly. "I'm glad to have such a family." She bit her lip and sunk her head down. "I mean, I'm glad to be with your family."

Father sighed. "Raise your head, Mara."

She complied.

"You have no family and no father."

It was a cruel statement—true, but cruel.

"I've known you have abilities like mine. In some ways, you remind me of myself. You may not be like my other children, but you are like me. I'd like to include you within our family. This is your home."

"Really?" Mara felt like she was floating. "Thank you, sir."

"You may call me Father."

"Yes, Father." Mara brushed away the urge to hug him, but bowed several times in appreciation.

* * *

Mara stepped into the main room and froze. She saw red—red blood, splattered across the walls and soaking the couch. She could see Lust, Sloth and Gluttony on the couch, amidst the carnage.

"No," she wailed. She ran towards them, sobbing at the loss. She fell to her knees in front of the bodies and squeezed her eyes closed, reliving her mother's death with an increased intensity. She had lost three family members as opposed to the one person lost, before. Her new family—already gone.

Mara felt the pressure of a hand on her head. She looked up and saw the worried eyes of Sloth peering at her. Lust had a similar expression of concern.

"You—You guys are okay?" She enveloped them in a hug, ignoring the pain in her back as the posture stretched her wounds.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Lust asked, bewildered.

"Because of all of that," Mara looked around at the blood drenched room. "Is that not your blood."

Lust and Sloth were unable to contain their laughter. Gluttony produced a low, slow laugh with a wide, drooling grin.

"Yeah, it's ours." Lust tried to catch her breath.

"Envy had a little meltdown." Sloth giggled.

Mara dropped her head, her relief at their survival contending with embarrassment over forgetting their healing abilities.

"Mommy!" Wrath leaped onto the couch and snuggled Sloth.

"You know," Lust teasingly jabbed Sloth with her elbow. "We might still have a warranty on him. We can get a replacement since ours malfunctioned."

Sloth looked thoughtful. "If we haven't voided the warranty, we could get a palm tree that isn't a psycho dick all the time."

Mara turned and began walking towards Envy's bedroom. Maybe she could help calm him down.

"Oh, Mara." Lust's voice stopped Mara in her tracks. "What did Father talk to you about."

Mara smiled brightly. "He adopted me, essentially."

Lust cocked an eyebrow. "This makes your relationship with Envy quite weird."

Mara glanced at Wrath and his "mom", and then at Lust who scratched Gluttony's head as if her were a pet dog. It certainly wasn't the weirdest relationship in this family.


	10. Chapter 10

**Woo! New chapter!**

 **Sorry for the wait, I spent a lot of time writing the 11th chapter...instead of the 10th.**

 **As usual, read and enjoy! Follow and favorite to get updated on new chapters!**

 **I like to hear what you guys think :) so reviews are always appreciated.**

* * *

Mara lightly knocked on Envy's door. She hesitated, ear pressed against the hard wood, hoping desperately to hear some verbal response arise from within.

There was silence. So, she hesitantly opened the door.

Envy was leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes focused on the wall to his right. Mara could almost see fire erupting from his head as he silently fumed.

She took a few steps towards his angry figure. "Hey, Envy?"

"Shut up. Go away."

"What did I do?" She wasn't the one who set him off, that was Lust and Sloth, maybe Gluttony too. But she hadn't done anything.

"You left." His eyes focused on her, burning holes through her skin with an unexpected harshness.

"What?" Mara froze. "But—I didn't—what the fuck—I never left. I—"

"I know," he screamed. He began banging the back of his head against the rock wall, over and over.

"I don't understand." Mara slowly began to back out of the room. She wasn't even sure what was going on anymore. She had never left.

He stopped hitting his head and stared up at the ceiling with strained, violet eyes. "I thought you did." His head leveled and he eyed her receding form. "Don't."

Mara paused, almost back through the door frame. "Don't what?"

"Don't leave."

"I didn't leave." She stated cautiously. What had even brought this up?

She was yanked into the room and the door was slammed behind her. He shoved her onto the bed. She let out a yelp as she felt the wounds on her back open from the force, her shirt beginning to be moistened by fresh blood.

She tried to get up but he pushed her back down.

He went in to kiss her but she shoved him away. "No."

He tried to pull her shirt off. Her eyes watered as her scabs were ripped. "Stop."

His violet eyes pierced her as he got close to her face. "No."

She slapped him.

His eyes widened and his hand flew to his cheek. He backed off, a handprint reddened on his skin.

Their eyes met.

Mara stood up and stared at Envy. She stood a good foot shorter than him but, for a moment, appeared his height. "Why the fuck would you think I left?"

He took a few steps back and cast a glance at the paneling on the wall. "I didn't know where you were. Sloth said she didn't either." He took a breath. "She was referring to in the house, but I thought she meant in general."

"So, your first thought—The first thing you assumed when you couldn't find me—the first thing was that I had _left_?" She felt her eyes dampen. Had nothing they had meant anything to him? Was his faith in her so weak?

He swallowed and walked back to her, eyes nestled on the ground.

"I was with Father, he adopted me into your fucking family."

Envy's eyes widened and he looked up at her. "What?"

"Yeah." Mara wiped a tear from her eye. "And you have the fucking nerve to accuse me of leaving."

Envy stared at her in silence, watching her lip tremble and a stray tear slide down her cheek. He closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her.

Mara buried her face in his black top, her arms slowly encircling his body as well. "I would never leave you," she whispered softly into the fabric. "I love you." She bit her lip, regretting the release of such sensitive information.

Envy rubbed her head, her fine hair slipping through his fingers like silk. A phrase he had never once imagined fought to escape his lips.

"I love you, too."

* * *

"Lust—your idea about bringing her with us on our next outing." Envy sat down on the couch next to Lust.

She turned to face Envy but he only peered at her out of the side of one eye. "You want to bring her along next time?" She grinned and brushed a few dark strands behind her ear.

Envy nodded with a devious grin. "As soon as her back is healed."

* * *

"So, we just stand here?" Mara glanced down at the street below.

"Yeah," Envy chuckled. "Sometimes I wait for Lust and sometimes she waits for me." He placed his arms on the window ledge and watched a car pass beneath them. "We try to alternate."

"Where did Lust and Gluttony go?" Mara's eyes scanned the streets below with absolutely no hint as to where the couple had proceeded to.

Envy pointed to a house nearby, off to the right. "There's a man there who we suspect may be a good sacrifice. Lust is assessing that right now."

Mara nodded. She remembered Lust once saying that she wasn't intended to be used as a sacrifice but the moment had been so oppressed by emotion and fear that she had failed to even consider what Lust had been referring to. "A sacrifice for what?"

"For the promised day."

"What is and when is that?" She eyed the building where Lust resided but saw nothing of obvious interest occurring within the area.

He grinned at her mischievously. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know."

Mara wasn't sure if she did or not. Sacrifice and promised day gave her the impression of virgins tossed into a volcano to appease the Spring Gods. "Are we hoping for a good harvest?" She laughed.

Envy smirked. "You could say that—if harvest is replaced with power and human souls."

Mara glanced at Envy. "Am I supposed to ask what you mean by that?"

"You can."

Mara stared at him blankly, waiting for him to continue but he simply squinted against the bright sun and watched the uninteresting house. She sighed, "What do you mean by that?"

"We'll be using humans to open a gate so Father can gain more power."

"That's vague."

Envy shrugged. "That's more than enough for you to know."

"Okay?" Mara almost regretting asking. She felt as though she was being pushed to the outside with this separation placed between her and this information that, seemed above her ranking in the family..

"You want to do something fun while we wait?" Envy placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Aren't we supposed to be watching out for Lust?"

Envy groaned. "It's not like we can do anything from up here."

Mara looked at him through narrow eyes. "Then what are we doing here? I thought we were backup?"

"Kinda," Envy chuckled. "If we hear a scream and see a stampede of humans storming with pitchforks towards where Lust and Gluttony are." He laughed maniacally. "The humans would be the ones who'd need back-up—Gluttony would be enjoying a nice human buffet."

"You sure know how to make a girl seem useful," Mara said softly as she leaned in towards him.

He smirked and met her lips before pushing her back onto a stout desk that lay, like most items in what Mara presumed was an old store room, unused. As the hard wood surface made contact with her skin, Mara was grateful her back had healed. Envy and Lust had mentioned bringing her with them while the wounds were still open but didn't follow through on that proposal until the skin on her back had closed completely—which took a bit over a week. It would've been sooner had Envy not so carelessly ripped them open pushing her back onto his bed in that fit of anger.

He pulled her pants off but only pushed her shirt up, exposing her breasts, teasing her with his tongue and nibbling on her neck before and as he entered her.

"Are—are you going to cut me?" Mara managed through moans.

Envy laughed with a dangerous grin. "You know me so well." He brushed a finger-blade gently along a space of unmarked skin on her stomach. He pressed it in, eliciting a sharp breath and moan from Mara. "I'm glad—"

The door opened and Mara's face flushed as she stared, upside down from the desk. How did Lust get finished so soon? She shouldn't be back for at least another 30 minutes. Her eyes widened as two figures emerged through the door frame.

"Will the renovations be finished in time?" A tall, lean man asked.

"Yes." A wide, almost bald man said as he twiddled his mustache absent-mindedly. "We'll ha—"

His voice broke off as his eyes fell over Mara and Envy, still frozen in their previous position.

Mara's cheeks lost their color and her eyes briefly fluoresced a bright, violet color. With a brief thump, the two figures at the door collapsed to the ground as corpses. Envy and Mara stared quietly at the bodies before Mara recaptured Envy's lips.

He chuckled and returned the amorous display. "Guess those renovations will be delayed thanks to Mara," he teased.

"How do you know they'll be delayed?" Mara laughed. "I didn't kill the workers."

"I'm sure killing the manager and client is even more effective." He bit her lip and tasted a trickle of blood before pulling back.

Mara rolled her eyes before pulling a smirking Envy closer to her, re-engaging in their previous escapades.

* * *

"Two more people?" Ed groaned. "Mustang, you can't be fucking serious."

"A young woman saw two people, one with long green hair and another, a girl who matched the description for Emilee." Mustang sighed.

"Green hair, fucking Envy." Ed hissed.

"She even claimed to have overheard Envy call her Mara, something she's been supposedly called before—and the woman reported the name during her initial statement." He folded his hands in front of his face as he sat at his desk. "So, it's unlikely to have been fabricated.

Ed gritted his teeth. "I've started to think that Kira was probably Envy. This just draws that up even more." He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "We need to start figuring out how to intercept them."

"Are you sure she saw them?" Alphonse asked slowly. "How did she see this much and not get killed?"

Mustang smiled through his fingertips. "She gave me quite an interesting story."

* * *

"Tonya, do you have the forms ready?" Mr. Baldwin asked over his shoulder as she walked behind him. He was strolling beside Mr. Tallahassee, the man who would soon be buying the old property.

"Yes, sir." She forced cheerfulness, despite annoyance at having been dragged along for diminutive clerical duties.

"Good, good." He turned to Mr. Tallahassee. "She's wonderful help, sometimes talks a bit too much and forgets her duties, you know how women are."

A vein pulsed in Tonya's forehead as she was forced to listen to this bullshit. Though her lips held a lovely smile, her eyes were slanted and focused on the annoying old man walking in front of her. He twirled his little mustache, the last hair that remained on the man's head in glee, either oblivious to Tonya's frustrations or simply too pompous to care. Tonya had begun to call him Mr. Baldy, jokingly to her friends when she vented her workplace frustrations.

Mr. Tallahassee smiled in return and took a back glance at Tonya as she assured all the contract and informational papers were orderly and neat. "Quite a beauty too, I hope you didn't just hire her for her bust."

Tonya looked up in shock at the man, as she brought the papers to cover her chest. The audacity! Sometimes she cursed these dreaded things.

Her boss didn't call out the man's statement for its rudeness, nor did he simply ignore it. No—Not Mr. Baldy.

"She has other qualities too," Mr. Baldy gave a deep throated laugh. "Definitely helped in the hiring process though."

Tonya's mouth dropped even further and she gritted her teeth and clenched her hands around the stacks of paper to prevent herself from mouthing off her boss or slamming the papers into the back of their heads—which she would've loved to do.

As if to assure Tonya he had not forgotten she was there, he looked over his shoulder at her with a glint in his eye and a smirk on his lips. "Just compliments, Tonya my dear."

Tonya was ready to explode but she tried to calm herself. She just had to live through the humiliation a few more weeks and she'd be free. Just had to work until Thomas had recovered from his accident, then he could work again and she could stay home with the children.

She had wanted to be in the working world, a business woman, when she was younger. Being a stay at home mom was not one of her childhood ambitions. But, unlike what most people tend to think, a pretty face and large breasts don't get you the job opportunities you imagine. They get you nice jobs, sure—but respect? No, not while people like Mr. Baldy and Mr. Tallass dominate the business world.

"Further down the hall is the store room," Mr. Baldy proclaimed. "It was damaged during the storm last November—Tonya, pass me the documents on th—"

Tonya slammed the pages into his hand as quickly as she could to shut him up, careful to keep the remainder to shield her chest from their disgusting eyes.

He grinned, "Why are you holding the papers like that, Tonya?"

Tonya tried to force a smile, _so you perverts can't sneak a peek._ "Just a bit cold."

The men chuckled. "Probably that time of the month," Mr. Tallass said.

Tonya wished they'd just die. She hated this. If they could just go away, if they'd just fucking die, she wouldn't have to feel disgraced every day at work.

Mr. Baldy opened the door to the old store room.

"Will the renovations be finished in time?" Mr. Tallass asked.

If only they would just fucking die off this earth.

"Yes," Mr. Baldy assured him as he twiddled his mustache absent-mindedly. "We'll ha—"

If only they'd just fucking _die_.

She pictured the two men dropping to the floor and a pleasured grin spread across her face. That gleeful moment quickly passed when she realized it wasn't her imagination.

Her skin turned white, her pulse was rapid, she almost fell to the floor.

Oh no, what had she done. Such intense emotions she'd felt, how did she do this? How could this—

"Guess those renovations will be delayed thanks to Mara," a male voice said before chuckling.

Tonya covered her mouth to silence her gasp as she stared at the open door.

"How do you know they'll be delayed?" a girl laughed. "I didn't kill the workers."

Tonya began to back away but stopped. What if they blamed her for this? She had motive. Hell—she'd just prayed for their deaths moments before. What would they do to her? She couldn't lose her children—who would take care of Thomas and the children? How could Thomas care for them alone?

She bit her lip. No—she had to peek and see who did this. If she could say who did it, they might not accuse her, or at least not prosecute her.

Fighting her fears, she crawled on her knees over their bodies, gagging as she brushed Mr. Baldwin's stomach. Moaning and sexual noises fell from the room, making Tonya even more disgusted. But, she assured herself, it meant they were distracted.

She peeked into the room and caught sight of a man with long green hair and violet eyes. The girls face she couldn't see as well but, almost as if on queue, she turned around, giving Tonya a good view. Tonya pulled out of sight, praying the girl had not just then seen her.

The noises in the room resumed and Tonya sighed in relief before quietly creeping away.

* * *

 _"Em—Emilee?" Ed gawked at the girl in front of him._

 _The girl didn't respond, merely cocking her head to the side and analyzing him._

 _"Emilee, it's us," Al said. "Ed and Al Elric. Remember us?"_

 _She didn't respond, continuing to stare blankly at them._

 _"What happened to you? Come with us." Ed ran and grabbed her arm, attempting to pull her away but she strained against him, stamping her feet down._

 _Something hit Ed's face, forcing his head back and his hand released its grip on the girl. He stumbled back and met violet eyes.s_

 _"She's not going anywhere," Envy sneered._

 _"Emilee," Al called. "Quickly come, we'll help you."_

 _"My name isn't Emilee," she said._

 _Ed's eyes widened._

 _"My name is Mara." She looked down at her feet a moment before looking up, eyes glowing the same color as Envy's. "Go to hell, Ed."_

 _Ed leaped back as rock spiked up from the ground. Al caught him and the two backed off. Envy laughed maniacally._

 _A building behind them crumbled and the brothers narrowly avoided being crushed by the debris. Ed's clapped his hands and sent ripples back towards Envy and Emilee._

 _Envy grabbed the girl and leaped to safety. He whispered something in her ear. Ed an Al watched in disgust as the green-haired man planted a kiss on her cheek._

 _Ed's right arm exploded. He stared in shock at the destroyed limb before Al grabbed him._

* * *

Ed sat up in bed, sweating and gasping for air. He feverishly grabbed his automail arm with his left, flesh one. He sighed in relief. His automail wasn't destroyed, Winry wouldn't be wrenching him to his deathbed.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al rushed towards him, from his previous position against the wall across the room.

Ed nodded as he placed a hand on his chest and tried to calm his heart. "Just a bad dream."

"About Emilee?"

Ed nodded, "Some of the parts of that woman, Tonya's story—what Emilee and Envy were doing in that room before and after they killed those men—it's just really fucking with me." He leaned back in the bed. "We need to come up with a plan, we need to rescue her." His voice didn't exude the confidence he intended. That dream left him apprehensive of exactly how such an encounter might transpire.

"Just try to get some rest, brother." Al pulled the sheets back over him. "We'll figure out what to do next in the morning."

Ed chuckled, "You're lucky you don't have to worry about bad dreams."

Alphonse looked down at the bed sheets. "It's something I honestly miss. Even bad dreams would be better than none—to me at least."

Ed smiled sadly and closed his eyes, attempting to return to sleep despite his restlessness and hesitation at resuming any dreams involving Emilee and that disgusting homunculus.


End file.
